I can tell you are extremely passionate about these animals, and I greatly respect your emphasis of the perils they face from vehicles. The amount all sorts of species of turtles/tortoises I've seen killed by cars is so depressing, and many people have a bias towards "ugly", "gross" animals, typically reptiles and arthropods which makes it even more important to get this message out. Keep up the great work.
A snapping turtle laid eggs by my driveway in southwestern Michigan on June 6th. 28 turtles hatched on August 14. 69 days. How I saved from predators: Once the mother left, I cut a square of tight wire fencing and laid brick pavers on each side of the square but touching each other. A week ago I pushed up the middle of the wire so there was enough clearance for them to move. Checked a few times a day starting a week before they were born. After about an hour of admiring, my five year old grandson and I took them to a nearby stream. We both enjoyed the experience.
All turtles come in my yard and lay eggs, snapping, wood, painted. This year something dug up six spots in my yard and ate all the eggs a few weeks after they were layed.
I’ve found that, with the larger ones, you can position a hand underneath between the in hind legs. Really helps to add a lot of stability when holding the big girls!
@@torstenrenner9941I agree. I always support them by their plastron. They generally don’t even get defensive if you pick them up this way. Fun fact, if you know how to interact with them they are pretty easy to socialize. The bite isn’t as bad as people think anyway. They do not produce 2K lbs psi. More like 350 lbs. Humans have more bite force.
@@TheWildReportOfficial Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 1 corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
I think you might be confusing a common snapping turtle (the one in the video) with an alligator snapping turtle. Alligator snappers have much bigger mouths, with very sharp points on both the upper and lower beak!
I was fishing for carp a few weeks ago. My buddy was getting some tugs but it wasn't a carp so he left his line out. When he finally decided to reel it in to check his bait, it was like he was pulling a horse! Turns out, he caught a bullhead and an opportunistic snapping turtle was making a snack out of him. That turtle was about the same size as the one in this video- BIG. The crazy part is that the turtle wasn't hooked. He just REFUSED to let go of HIS bullhead. My friend pulled that turtle clear out of the water and all that was left of the bullhead was the face and some guts. I have never in my life seen such an ornery animal!
Love me some mud dragons! I'm glad you added these amazing creatures to your Everything You Need to Know series! Awesome encounter, great conservational message.
Thanks Spencer, glad you enjoyed! I've been meaning to make this style of video about these guys forever but as you know they can be challenging to find and catch here in the Piedmont.
I have helped a couple of turtles finish their road crossing but I have been worried about getting bit by a snapping turtle. Your demo has given me some confidence to try.
Hey Ben ! We had a new broom in the van and used it to get a snapping turtle off the road. Was not going to pick it up ! Gently did it ! Love what you show us !
I just hit the subscribe button after watching a Hurricane Ian video of a chaser saving a normal turtle and seeing the comments saying to never touch snapping turtles. Thanks for showing how to do it and describing them so well. Great job!
Wow! I love the way you started off this video with the dive to catch the turtle -- then followed up with a really interesting description of the animal. I have been binging on videos for the past few hours and this was, minute for minute, the most interesting and informative. Very, very well done! 👍👍
Snappers are so prehistoric and cool..tough to handle because of bite force, you really have to pick them up by the rear ⅓ & be careful..VERY CAREFUL.. THEY CAN BITE THROUGH THICK, HEAVY GLOVES! But saving one is worthwhile moment!
The cahonies on this man jumping headlong into a pond with this beast 😅 Really impressive turtle, I definitely will try and scoot any along I see alongside the road trying to get across...though probably not by picking them up haha.
Thanks for another great video! I moved to NC 5 years ago and your videos have really helped me get over my fear of snakes, especially the Copper Head. Keep up the great content!
I thought I saw u today at Costco in moorseville. I wasn’t sure if it was u.But anyways great job on these awesome video they are informative. Keep doing the great job ben.
Hey, I have a question. I found a turtle flipped over and it appeared to be hit by a car. It was on an overpass of a small stream passing under the roadway. I didn’t know which way it was heading, so I placed her back down in the grass on the same side that I found her. Neither side really seems like a great place for her to go. Did I do the right thing or did I just make it more difficult for her to get across once again? That was actually the second time I passed her and she was flipped over again in the shoulder
That was quite a catch Ben, and a nice sized turtle! I love snapping turtles, and that was a really calm one from what I could tell. I liked your discussion about the value of protecting big adult turtles and their role in maintaining the species, that's a good way to explain why overhunting is so detrimental. Great work! - Harrison and Evan
I live in North Carolina and my neighborhood pond has many turtles includimg snappers. One of which will swim to the same little area and greet me every day. It is easily as large as this one
🤣 that intro! Took one for the team on that one. Oh, dang, I didn't know you took a bite from one. Holy moly! Good info in this one, Ben. Keep rockin' that conservation message.
One of my favorites. I've found 3 ever that I would put over 40 ibs, absolute units! The biggest was over a yard head to tail, in Minnesota. Couldn't catch it. Just found 2 20ibers in north Texas today in what amounts to a glorified puddle. Awesome animals.
Ben, you should do a side-by-side comparison of the common snapper with the much larger alligator snapper. Thanks for another awesome show. I loved how you jumped right in to the subject.
Those are amazing creatures - that thing looks like it could snap your arm off - pretty brave diving into that murky water to wrangle that thing out!!!
@@TheWildReportOfficial there was a 86 pound caught in South Carolina. Google 86 lb monster Turtle caught in South Carolina- ebony gentleman RU-vid. They can get really big hope you find one over a hundred pounds! LOL
Awesome video! I live a bit further north in Vermont and we have a few really large snapping turtles here. I'm not sure if they are common snapping turtles or not but they are very large. I've never tried to pick one up and will probably keep it that way but it is good to know that you can if you grab the back 1/3 of the shell.
So these things are cool and help the balance of the body of water. As a bass fisherman, I’m on the fence on how to feel about them. If the snappers aren’t there, will bluegill/crappie overrun the small lake I fish? Bluegill/crappie are food for the bass. Should I off the snapper for hopes of higher quantity of bigger bass? I catfish sometimes, sometimes snappers come up. What should I do about that?
The snappers are likely not having a negative impact on the bass population, since they typically just eat whatever the most abundant food source is (usually smaller panfish). As far as the snappers pursuing your catfish, it'll probable keep happening since they think it's an easy meal opportunity. I'd just recommend switching to circle hooks so if you do accidentally get one on the line the hook shouldn't set too deep.
thank you for making this video. You are quick to be able to chech the turtle, I have saved many painted turtles, but no snipers. Keep up the good work.
These can be found all throughout North Carolina, but are active throughout much more of the year at the coast and in the Piedmont than the mountains. And thank you!
Great video! Here at home in Ontario I often see these hostile fellows, thank you for showing how to pick one up. We frequently get little guys paddling their way across my lawn. Most often a long way from water.
A beautiful animal. Every spring they have warnings out at Presque Isle State Park in Erie,Pa to watch out for all different Turtles crossing the road.
Great informational video, and wow! What a catch! I almost hit a large snapping turtle with my lawnmower last summer. It was nestled down in the dirt along a fence line near my neighbor’s shallow pond. The mower passed over the top of it, but she was nestled down low enough in the ground and didn’t get hit with the blade. Phewww! I just spotted her hunting in the shallows this morning, almost a year later, and she’s huge. I’m glad she’s still thriving ❤
They're a semi-frequent sight in some parts of the Twin Cities during the summertime. They sometimes get trapped in the roads because they crawl into them but then can't get out due to the curbs. I rescued one from such a situation and set it down at the edge of a pond. It hissed at me quite a bit but wasn't as big or as aggressive as the one in your video.
I grew up close to a huge pond in CT and turtles that size and larger would come up our street to lay eggs on an embankment. Always wondered why they walked 2 blocks away from the water to lay eggs. How did the hatchlings find their way back?
The females select nesting sites based on soil characteristics, often migrating to upland areas with sunnier, sandier soils to make the actual digging process easier in addition to expediting incubation. I think the hatchlings just move downhill, but they also may have a mechanism for smelling water.
@@TheWildReportOfficial That makes sense as we lived far uphill from the pond and the area used had very sandy soil facing East. Used to find the eggshell remains now and then next to our yard. Those huge turtles were like mini-tanks and caused quite an uproar when they appeared in the road. Unfortunately, they killed a lot of ducks and baby swans.
I seen a turtle laying eggs, she covered them up, I seen Turkey Vultures flying above, I have seen many turtle nest open and egg shells open on the ground, so I put a pile of leaves on top to camoflague them, I mountain bike there so I looked at the nest often, then one day I seen baby turtle tracks all headed for the lake, it wasn't far away, I was a proud grandpa.. LOL I have also seen turtles lay eggs, and on the next lap around seen a rottenccoon eating the eggss.. after that I tried the leaf deal and won against them rottencoons. Happy Trails
Decades ago, we dug a deep spring fed pond here in upstate New York. It’s big enough to swim laps in. Pond wildlife is abundant, and we’ve seen many snapping turtles and have come to appreciate the role they play in maintaining its ecology. One example is that they keep the Canada Geese from settling in and taking over. Another is that they winnow the carp population. At first the big one who likes to climb up and enjoy the sunshine on our dock was very skittish and would hurriedly reenter the water when seeing anyone approaching, from even a hundred yards away. Over time it has come to see us as unthreatening and now it shares the small dock space with me when I walk on to dive off. One time it even positioned itself at the top of the dock ladder so that when I wanted to climb up and out it was in my way. We had a face off and I deferred to it and swam around to the bank. All the hype around how dangerous they are is a drag. They’re never going to bother you in the water and on land you have no reason to get close enough to them for them to feel threatened unless you try to move them, in which case the Wild Report’s guideline is right.
In Pennsylvania there is actually a season . So I guess you could say they are somewhat protected in Pennsylvania. Beginning of July to the end of October is the season for snapping turtles.
I just had to relocate one that showed up in my driveway today. I once had to get one out of a road and didn't have any way to nudge it into a box or tote like I did today, and it takes nerves of steel to grasp that lower part of the shell and carry them. Kudos to you good sir.👍
I remember one time I caught a snapping turtle and he didn’t really snap at me when I held him but he did try to bite me when i got to close to his head
Dude works out. He is shredded. Quads nicely defined and thick. Stay strong my man. Cool video. Lots of turtles around here in windsor ontario. Now i know how to safely move them and look like a pro...to pick up chics of course.
Have handled a few of these creatures over decades and with varied circumstances, have come to respect them a great deal. I think their eyes are among the most beautiful of the animal kingdom. I've had a few that were recurrent captures to make acquaintance with and they become quite amenable to interacting, especially if you have a food item they like. I used to make "turt balls" out of ground up dog biscuits and canned cat food - they loved it. I've handled sizes up to about as large as the one in this video and you demonstrate such passionate knowledge, Kudos!!
Per your recommendation, I have had an occasion to try and assist a very large 'snapper' across a roadway. However, I was very much put off by the animal's ability to move their head very far back towards their tail end. One swipe (and the hard clacking sound of that beak!) was all it took for me to abandon that effort. Instead, I remained in the road to warn any approaching motorists. It eventually made it off the road. So you're saying with 100% certainty, that if you grab one by the back portion of the shell sides, it would be impossible for one to bite you? Never know if I may come across another one... Thanks for the vid, it was very interesting!
Thanks so much for taking the time to help it out! Yes, if you hold the back third of the shell, it cannot get to your hands, but stopping traffic also works!
Years ago me and my grandpa used to fish for carp and sometime we would catch a snapping turtle. It was very tricky to get hook out of their mouths. Always used a long stick to do this and had the most respect for their powerful jaws!!! They are amazing animals! Like a living dinosaur!!!
My grandpa used to take me pond fishing also. And he really did like his whiskey as well. He used to catch a snapper now and then, instead of the bluegills, perch and bass he was hoping for. Some were huge, like this one, or even bigger. It would infuriate him so much he'd go get a big rock and smash the turtle's brains out. He was a real menace to snapping turtles, but I sure did have fun fishing with him. I am literally talking about 65-70 years ago, folks...
Kudos for you for taking the hook out. I went fishing with this guy who would sometimes get softshelled turtles on his line. He just cut the line saying the hooks dissolved. He was right. He caught a small one and let me take it home as a pet. I was a kid and couldn't get the hook out, it kept trying to bite me and i couldn't blame it. One day the hook was gone.
Great video. I'll bet a lot of people have been bitten by underestimating how long their neck is. It looked like it got pretty close to you a couple of times
I know of a snapping turtle oasis where I live in South Carolina. I go there to catch Catfish but end up snagging multiple snapping turtles the size of the one in this video and bigger! If there is any bait that they cant stand please do tell.
They will eat pretty much any fish bait, but you could potentially look into using barbless fish hooks that will be easier to fall out of their mouths if they do get snagged.
There was one crossing a road in a State park in Massachusetts almost 30 years ago, started to lift it but judged it to be too unwieldy, the road was low traffic so it made it across on it’s own. (Wompatuck).
Mine weighed at 45lb. When caught he weighed in about 35lb. Shell length was about 17" in length by 16". He'd bite when caught but became totally docile when brought home. Just caught a 30 pounder by the Uncanoonuk mtns. in Wear NH. about 3 weeks ago. He was right in the middle of Mountain Rd. I took him home & released him into the Pennichuck ponds (our water supply ponds) I don't handle them the way you do. I grasp the tail (not lift it, just use to hold in place) I then slide my hand under the Plastron & lift. If it's a big one, I'll use by arm like a fulcrum against my chest. All I can say is it works fine for me.
I think the first thing we need to know...is... do not let them bite you!! I've caught a ton of them ( literally ) and I have much respect for that bite. Good video with really good info. cool.
Dude.... You just dove head first after something that can take fingers off!!! Do not try this at home. Really cool animals though, glad to see a big one.
Bike riding on the tow path of the Delaware River in Easton Pa back in the early 90's, I came upon a HUGE turtle resting on the bank. It's shell was approx 2.5 feet in diameter. Long tail with spikes, like the pet that lived under the Munsters stairs ! It's head was bigger than a football. Had no cell ph back then to take a pic. As soon as I moved to get off my bike it slid down into the canal prob never to be seen again. I swear !
I found a little baby snapping turtle walking across our road we live in Pennsylvania and I can't think of any waterways or even near us it would be miles and miles away anyway this thing is about the size of a golf ball and I don't know what to do I don't know how to raise it or where to take it can you help
I just pulled over in North Georgia this morning and got the biggest snapping turtle ive ever seen out of the road. He was bleeding a little but seemed ok. He was gone when i came back.
I just watched another Snapping Turtle video and the guy has tamed a few of them. He says the key is to pick them up with a hand under the belly, instead of lifting from the sides of their shells. His became quite tame after a short amount of time.
