An alligator snapping turtle was found and captured in the Prineville Reservoir in Oregon on Friday. The turtle, which is an invasive species of the state, is native to and is normally only found in the southeastern United States.
This species of turtle is known to many as the “dinosaur of the turtle world” because of its scaly skin, spiked shell, and narrow, beak-like mouth, according to Nature World News. These turtles can grow to be as heavy as 250 pounds and live to up to 100 years in the wild.
The turtle is notorious for being extremely aggressive toward humans if given a chance. They have a vicious bite and dine mainly on fish, but they are also known to eat ducklings.
This is the first time that the alligator snapping turtle has been seen in Oregon, reports The Statesman.
“I’d hate to see these turtles get established in Oregon," Rick Boatner of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife told the Statesman in an interview. "We already have problems in the Willamette Valley with common snapping turtles.”
The turtle was found on Thursday after it was seen by a fisherman when he was out at the reservoir. He reported it to the ODFW, who came out to capture it the next day.
The ODFW believe that the turtle was someone’s pet and had been released into the wild because of the turtle’s size and aggressiveness.
The turtle was later euthanized according to state guidelines. It was sedated and then killed by a strike to the head.
The ODFW is reportedly concerned about a possible growth of alligator snapping turtles in Oregon. They fear that a large presence of these turtles would be bad for the local environment.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
