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Alligator Snapping Turtle

Macrochelys temminckii

Photo by MitchRay
Published on Project Noah
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32.5093, -92.1193

Field Notes

Notes:

Frank the Tank was an 85 pound bruiser with a bad additude.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (15)
Sa
Lol, it's cool, it is a great alternative training :-P
Ashish
Yes... Mitch... we must love to each life... To know and share information is most important..!!
MitchRay
Working with these critters does require a certain love of lifting fairly heavy things. I used to joke that every Spring and Fall I was in training for the "Turtle Olympics"
Ashish
I like most the Power lifting work of Mitch.. what made us to check specifications of this giant tortoise... :)
MitchRay
I don't mind at all. Louisiana and Texas are pretty cool, if you know where to look.
Sa
Wow, what a degree I guess! They are fantastic, and I'm sure Louisiana and Texas are both great places where nature has to offer so much..do you mind if I add you on followings?
MitchRay
They were my study species for my Master's degree. I radio-tracked 20 of them over the course of two years. I'll always have a special place in my heart for this species in particular.
Sa
I understand, that's a big and great one..do u have a passion on them in particular, saw you got several shots of them
MitchRay
Very good question. The short answer is probably over 75 years old. It's thus far impossible to accurately age this species, but that's an educated guess based on growth charts.
Sa
Oh really? That's cool, I didn't know about that..do u know how old could it be in the picture?
MitchRay
They just have ginormous heads. It's part of the reason you can grab them behind the head, the head is too large to retract entirely into the shell!
Sa
Oh God! That's great...the head seems to be little over porpotion comparing with the body, is it the kind or just the impression?..always loved them and you got all nice photos :-)
MitchRay
You bet guys. I've got a few photos up of some really big males (koopa and slippery pete). Neat critters that made for some pretty cool pictures.
Ashish
Mitch thanks for sharing..!!
Photographed
PublishedApril 22, 2011

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