Snapping Turtle

It depends entirely on where the turtle is. In the water, a snapping turtle is not a threat to a swimmer and will retreat, and there is essentially no record of an unprovoked attack. On land, where the turtle cannot escape or hide in its shell, it defends itself vigorously, striking with a fast neck that reaches much further back and sideways than people expect. A common snapping turtle bite can cause a deep, painful cut and, in some cases, take off a fingertip, while a large alligator snapping turtle, with jaws that close with hundreds of pounds of force, can crush bone and sever a finger. The safe course is not to handle one at all, and if a turtle must be moved off a road, to push it from behind or lift it by the back of the shell, well clear of the head.

They are the two members of the snapping turtle family and differ in size, shape, and behaviour. The common snapping turtle is the smaller, more widespread species, with a fairly smooth shell up to about 35 centimetres, a long tail, and a habit of roaming and even basking; it is an active forager and scavenger. The alligator snapping turtle is far larger, up to 80 centimetres of shell and well over 100 kilograms, with three prominent ridges of spiky scutes down its back, a massive head and hooked beak, and a mostly sedentary, ambush lifestyle centred on the worm-like lure in its mouth. The alligator snapper is restricted to the southeastern United States, while the common snapper ranges from Canada to South America.

The alligator snapping turtle can. On the floor of its mouth is a small, fleshy, pinkish-red projection that closely resembles a wriggling worm or grub when the turtle twitches it. The turtle settles motionless on the bottom, often camouflaged by algae on its shell, holds its mouth wide open, and works the lure. A fish that comes in to take what it thinks is an easy meal triggers the jaws, which snap shut in a fraction of a second. This kind of aggressive mimicry, using a body part as bait, is rare among vertebrates, seen also in a few fishes such as the anglerfish and the alligator snapper's distant relative the mata mata.

The turtles seen on roads are almost always females in late spring and early summer, travelling overland to find loose soil or sand to dig a nest, sometimes far from the water. Roads cut through this movement, and road mortality is a major cause of decline, especially since losing breeding-age females is hard for a slow-maturing population to absorb. If it is safe for you and traffic allows, helping a turtle across in the direction it was already heading is worthwhile, but a snapping turtle should never be picked up by the tail, which can injure its spine, or held near the head. Sliding it onto a car mat or nudging it from behind with a stick keeps you clear of the bite.