LOOK AT THIS DINOSAUR !!!

[yagyujubei]

I was just sitting on the porch taking a break, and look who waltzes right up my driveway.

Getting REALLY annoyed right about now!

He's about 25 pounds and 14+" SCL I suppose having him reenact the scene would've made a better pic, but quite frankly, I'm a little leery of him. He's very bad tempered. And very old.

---

When he shoots his head out in an attempt to bite, his whole body almost comes off of the ground.

 

[dmarcus]

Wow he looks very old, thanks for sharing this, i like him...

 

[Tortuga_terrestre]

He looks friendly hahahaha...

 

[DeanS]

VERY nice...Ray Harryhausen couldn't have done a better job!

 

[Kristina]

Bet he is probably a "she"... Looking for somewhere to incubate the next generation

 

[ticothetort2]

Not someone I would want to run into during a nice swim!

 

[yagyujubei]

Bet he is probably a "she"... Looking for somewhere to incubate the next generation

Males migrate this time of year around here also. I'll have to find out how to sex them some day.

 

[african cake queen]

hi, cool picture. did you count your fingers? toes? 'lol' lindy

 

[yagyujubei]

hi, cool picture. did you count your fingers? toes? 'lol' lindy

He's very "bitey" , and his head is about three inches wide.

 

[hali]

blimey

 

[DixieParadise]

That would scare the helll out of me if I were swimming in the lake. I bet the look on your face was like the Mastercard commerical: "Priceless"

 

[Nay]

How'd ya get him in the back of your truck?

 

[yagyujubei]

How'd ya get him in the back of your truck?

Very carefully. Too heavy to use his tail at all. I wasn't sure if you could pick him up like an alligator snapper, and hold the shell above his gaping jaws. So I held on each side by the rear legs with my eyes constantly fixed on his mandibles of mayhem. I think I'll drop him off in the river tomorrow. Cool as he is, I don't want him in my pond. I love how he wears his skin like a kimono.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Nice snapper/.

 

[GBtortoises]

Being the local "turtle guy" I get calls to remove Snapping turtles often around here. They're almost always females going to or coming from a nesting site, quite often in people's gardens! I don't like lifting them by their tails because in doing so you can actually feel (and hear) the vertabrae in their tail breaking when you try lift them. Lifting them up also exposes your legs to their jaws. I learned years ago that despite being "captured" they still want to bite. I learned this standing in a parking lot full of people, me holding the Snapping turtle by the tail and the Snapping turtle holding me by the pant leg! I eventually won the battle but then I wasn't the one being held upside down by his tail! Nowadays (with leather gloves on), I grab them by the rear of their shell, lift their back legs off the ground and drag or lift them where they need to go. Their necks are long and despite their cumbersome looks, they're extremely fast and can reach about half way across the back or to the side of their shell!
I've encountered Snapping turtles in the rivers and lakes here while fishing and they have a completely different demeanor in the water than they do on land. In the water you can actually "shoo" them away and they turn and just wander off. On land they are very much out of their element very defensive.

 

[Fernando]

what the!.... that is amazing! I've never seen on in person.

 

[DeanS]

...I still think I'll go with Trapper...hey Greg?

 

[Sky2Mina]

This one reminds me of:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_xp5Bq_i7U
They ARE fast!

 

[SnakeyeZ]

Impressive!