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Archives of The Cold Blooded NewsThe Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological SocietyVolume 31, Number 1; January, 2004 |
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World's Largest Snake Chasing the Magic Dragon Xantusia riversiana New Taxonomic Changes and Species As Bullfrogs Spread Snapping Turtle Found in UK Snake Bioacoustics Ecological Impact of Spiny-Tailed Iguanas Lizard Hormone May Stabilize Blood Sugar Levels PREVIOUS ISSUES 2003 Index 2002 Index Earlier Issues About the Cold Blooded News CHS Home Page |
American Snapping Turtle Found in UK (Estimated 20 Years Old)Express & Star (Wolverhampton, UK) 7/19/03 (Jim Dunton)Reprinted from the newsletter of the Gulf Coast Turtle & Tortoise Society, Summer 2003.Originally from Herp Digest, Vol.3, No.47. Nessie he's not, but a mini monster has washed up after years of haunting a Walsall pool, terrorising ducks and fish. RSPCA officers yesterday pulled a snapping turtle the size of a pizza dish out of a brook near Goscote. Inspector Tim Dixon, of the society said the young anglers who found the turtle - and nicknamed him Lucky - were lucky not to get bitten themselves. "It could have easily taken one of their fingers off," he said. "These things do grow up to be quite aggressive." With a shell diameter of 14ins, Mr. Dixon estimated Lucky was up to 20 years-old, and had probably lived most of his life in the wild. "People get bored with them, and because they're difficult to re-home, they just get released back into the wild - even though it's illegal," he explained. "He would have been a popular thing to have around about the time of the Mutant Ninja Turtles craze." He added that Lucky would have found the pool, just north of Slacky Lane, an ideal habitat for feeding on small fish and ducklings. "I'm presuming that because we've had quite a lot of heavy rain in the past couple of days, he would have been more active," Mr. Dixon said. "After he ran out of things to eat in the pool he probably started looking further afield." But the quest for pastures new will instead spell the end of Lucky's freedom. After plucking him out of a shallow part of the brook, RSPCA officers have now found a home for Lucky at Drayton Manor Zoo. Mr. Dixon said although Lucky was the first common snapping turtle he'd ever picked up in Walsall, one or two usually surfaced across the wider region every year. (Editor: It should be noted that common snappers are also now found in Japan.) Copyright © 1998 - 2006, Colorado Herpetological Society. All rights reserved. | ||
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