Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Rare 'alligator snapping turtle' caught in Chinese lake

A fisherman in China was surprised after catching this striking creature, which looks like a cross between a turtle and a dinosaur. The man discovered the alligator snapping turtle, which is not native to the country, in Weishan Lake, in southern China's Anhui province.

The species is only native to North America and was probably someone's pet before being dumped in the lake, the local fishing department said. The creature's alien status meant that it could have posed a danger to the local ecological system, they added.



Fisherman Sun Yongcheng said he was surprised when he netted the alligator turtle, which measures 76cm long and 30cm wide and weighs 7kg. He said: "I suddenly noticed a black thing was hooked on the net, which scared me. It was struggling and biting the net when I pulled it up".

The spokesman for the Jining Fishing Bureau said this was the first time an alligator snapping turtle had been found in the local water system. He said: "Somebody may have dumped their pet into the lake, which could greatly endanger the local ecology."

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope they don't eat it, but given Chinese cuisine rare apparently means extra tasty.

Andiscandis said...

is it dead already?  Why/how is that guy just holding it?  Snappers are not known to be friendly.

Anonymous said...

He looks sleepy...

Atypical Kansan said...

It'd better be dead or that dude likely walks around without a nose now. We have those in my local waters and they are extremely ill tempered and will act quite aggressive if they consider you a threat. No way I'd EVER hold one like that!

Veal said...

Where do you live? I've never heard of or seen these before. I thought it was going to end up being a hoax!

Veal said...

Ok, scratch that. I didn't read your name before I replied. Lol.

Foreigner1 said...

American waters get infested by Asian molluscs, crabs, wheeds and other animals that clog up and choke indigenous aquatic life. So I don't mind that apparently a kind gesture has been done back by sending them one of America's more 'cuddly' swimmers...

:-P