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Alligator snapping turtles spotted in a river in Florida. ‘Welcome to Jurassic Park’, say netizens
While some were shocked at the huge size of the turtles, others compared the creature to those shown in the popular Jurassic Park movies.
Pictures of three turtles found in the New River, Florida have gone viral after being shared on Facebook. A post shared on the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute details how biologists caught three Suwannee alligator snapping turtles for research purposes.
“This week our biologists were out checking traps set for the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys suwanniensis,” explains the post. “FWC is collaborating with other researchers in Florida and Georgia to document the distribution and relative abundance of this state threatened species,” it says further.
The post mentions further that traps were set to capture the turtles.
“Six 4-foot diameter hoop net traps were set in the New River, north of Gainesville. In one trap, they caught a 100-pound male and a 46-pound female, another trap had a 64-pound male.”
Take a look at the photos:
Shared on August 21, the post has garnered over 1,300 reactions along with tons of comments from netizens. While some were shocked at the huge size of the turtles, others compared the creature to those shown in the popular Jurassic Park movies. Many even had questions regarding the unusual turtle specie.
“Did you release them safely elsewhere, FWC?” asked a netizen. To which they replied with, “After collecting data and photo voucher, they were released where they were trapped in the New River”.
“I might have missed it in the description, but can you tell how old they are?” inquired another. The research facility replied that the creatures were almost 40-80 years old.
Here’s how others reacted:
“Wow! Snapping turtles both scare me and amaze me. I would never be brave enough to pick one up like the guy in the pic!” wrote a Facebook user. “Imagine one of those mutated in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Awesome!” expressed another. “Welcome! To Jurassic Park,” said a third.
What are your thoughts on these rare turtles?
