old3bob Posted May 5 (edited) if I was fishing and caught one of these I don't know what I'd do!! They say its bite can take off fingers but it looks to me like its bite could also take off arms and legs! So it would stay in the water if caught, i can't imagine hauling it on board! has to be released from hook somehow? Edited May 5 by old3bob 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sanity Check Posted May 5 https://www.dailysentinel.com/sports/chasing-dinosaurs/article_91e29d79-58f8-5835-857e-58bd0958730d.html "Alligator snapping turtle". Nice. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted May 5 They've had one that's more than a 100 years old at a nature center (The Grove in Glenview IL) for as long as I can remember. Old, mossy and rises to the surface once every 5 minutes to take a single breath the slowly sinks back down. 3 years ago near the Skokie Lagoon I stopped to see what people were staring at. It was a small Alligator snapping turtle, in the stream across from the lagoon. Last year in the spring on my first venture out canoeing there, the water was particularly clear and I saw a medium size snapper under my boat, gliding along. I slowed and watched him, til he went deeper. This year while kayaking I saw a splash in the water from fish jumping. I kept looking and a big singular claw came out of the water for a fraction of a second. Alligator snapper? Maybe. Downtown Chicago a large pond by the Lincoln Park zoo, has a alligator snapper or two in them. Always amazing to see these large prehistoric looking reptiles so close to the city. Kayaking the rivers and lagoons I'm seeing way more deer, muskrats, blue herons, cormorants and water snakes than ever before. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old3bob Posted May 5 quite the creature, I imagine once they reach a certain size no other creatures dares to mess them! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted May 6 23 hours ago, old3bob said: quite the creature, I imagine once they reach a certain size no other creatures dares to mess them! I keep one of my kid's Pokeballs in the kayak as a last ditch defense if I'm ever swarmed by these Snappous Aligatormon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old3bob Posted May 6 5 hours ago, thelerner said: I keep one of my kid's Pokeballs in the kayak as a last ditch defense if I'm ever swarmed by these Snappous Aligatormon. I'm not familiar with using pokeballs as such a defense, aren't they small toy balls? I imagine they wouldn't like pepper spray if you had to use it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted May 6 2 hours ago, old3bob said: I'm not familiar with using pokeballs as such a defense, aren't they small toy balls? I imagine they wouldn't like pepper spray if you had to use it? My son tells me those empty plastic balls can be useful for capturing strange otherworldly looking monsters, and these Alligator snapping turtles certainly look the part. Example: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-Yk7WsH-4L8 I always feel very lucky when I see them, even a raised claw. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
