A Snapping Turtle Was Fed A Sick Puppy; It Was Euthanized Later

in #steemstem6 years ago (edited)


Picture By Gary M. Stolz - Wikimedia


Ever heard of an alligator snapping turtle? It is the largest and heaviest turtle in the world which sometimes, cannibalised their own species if they had the opportunity to do so. They are aggressive, incredibly patient and would eat anything that they can get their hand onto. They have quite a number of characteristics which resemble an alligator, hence, the word Alligator in their name. A study which was conducted in 2014 has revealed that there are three species of alligator snapping turtles which have been mistakenly thought as one, which are:

  • Macrochelys temminckii
  • Macrochelys suwanniensis
  • Macrochelys apalachicolae

If you take a closer look at them, they appear like a plated dinosaur with a shell which is equipped with some large-scale dorsal spikes. They are commonly associated with a common snapping turtle which came from a different genus classification and possessed different physical characteristics:

  • Both of them have a different head shape. The head of an alligator snapping turtle is pointed in a triangular fashion while a common snapping turtle, possess a rounded (more like an oval) head shape (If it is viewed from the superior angle).

  • The shell owned by a common snapping turtle is smooth compared to the shell owned by an alligator snapping turtle which has multiple dorsal ridges. As they get older, shells of both species will turn smoother but it will remain rougher for an alligator snapping turtle.

  • A unique characteristic of an alligator snapping turtle can be found at the edge of its bottom jaw. It is equipped with a fleshy lure which is capable of attracting fishes to come closer, believing it was a tasty worm. Well, too bad it is not. So far, an alligator snapping turtle is the only animal which has such luring system.



An alligator snapping turtle can grow up to 100 cm in length and weigh up to 100 kg in weight. They were capable of staying still for a longer period of time, waiting for its prey before lunging forward, seizing them at a high-speed snatch. They aren't so picky about food and as the opportunistic predator, they would hunt anything they are capable of catching.

According to a study which has been conducted in Louisiana by Elsey R.M., the majority of victims found in an alligator snapping turtle stomach content were the other species of turtles. There is a species of an adult alligator snapping turtle (I'm not quite sure which one) which has been found to hunt American alligators for food. I would say, it would take a lot more than courage to hunt a small American alligator which has been considered as one of the most dangerous freshwater reptiles in the world.

Some of the alligator snapping turtles are known to live beyond their speculated average lifespan. The majority of alligator snapping turtles can live up to 100 years but there are some which are found to have been alive for more than 200 years. These are some of the turtles which have been found swimming around in the wild. A captive alligator snapping turtle which is kept for either conservation or a pet can only live up to 70 years. The difference is significant which suggest some kind of environmental factors that influence the longevity of this species of reptile.

The tragedy in Idaho


2183482056_879d7b7131_b.jpg

Gary J. Wood - Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)


On the 7th of March 2018, the world (well at least the state of Idaho) has been surprised with a news which entailed a science teacher in a high school located in the state of Idaho feed a sick puppy to an alligator snapping turtle which was kept as a biological specimen. It was unknown what is the true intention of the high school teacher but there are a few version of stories which can't be verified by anyone regarding its validity.

According to one of the stories, the high school teacher met with an unknown individual who brought a sick puppy to be attended by the school teacher. He (the school teacher) had a reputation for being compassionate with sick animals hence the trust placed by some people, on him to care for their sick pets. There are three students which have been helping him to feed the alligator snapping turtle, every day after the school session has ended.

While attending to the puppy, it won't eat or drink which make the high school teacher conclude that it can't be treated any longer; the puppy would die eventually. Well, to make it short, he drowned the sick puppy in an alligator snapping turtle tank where it was eaten by the reptile. The owner of the puppy was not upset due to the fact she understood that the sick puppy she owned was beyond saving. However, the "feeding session" was overheard by one of the school staff. The incident was reported to the local police afterwards.

Now, there are two sides of this story. One is the side which supports the action took by the high school teacher while the other side, opposed to the action taken. Whatever it is, the story went viral and he was investigated by the County Sherriff's office as to confirm the reason behind such action. I'm not here to judge anything, but I would say, I'm one of the people who believe that there is more than one way you can do the help that sick puppy; feeding it to an alligator snapping turtle is not on my list.



Picture By Tina Li - Flickr (CC BY 2.0)


There are more than 90,000 signatures collected among people who opposed the high school teacher's action, which formally requested the teacher involved to be fired. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was contacted later, to assess the threat and all of the school located in Preston was monitored. This incident has made the alligator snapping turtle involved to be considered as invasive and it was euthanised later by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

The reason behind the decision made by the Idaho State Department of Agriculture was quite controversial. Even though, an alligator snapping turtle can be considered as one of the deadliest turtles in the world, the puppy which has been eaten was being fed by the high school teacher which make it unreasonable to expect the snapping turtle to ignore such delicious feast. The authority has been receiving quite a number of phone calls regarding the action taken to euthanise the snapping turtle.

According to a source, the high school teacher didn't even own a proper permit to keep such animal, it should be transferred to a conservation site, instead of being euthanised. As of 14th of June 2006, an alligator snapping turtle has been considered as a threatened species which has been listed in the IUCN red list. They are threatened to extinction in a few states in the USA so theoretically, they were heavily protected by the state law from the unlawful pet trade, poaching and habitat destruction.


What's your thought on this issue?


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Damn, that's pretty insane.

I guess you could make the argument that it is good to have the dog utilized as food for another organism instead of being buried, but they should at least have euthanized it in a painless fashion first. Drowning is a pretty bad way to die..

Well, what you've said is true but there is a few version of stories and this information might have been tweaked here and there. I think all of the stories I have encountered so far suggest that the puppy was still alive when it was fed to an alligator snapping turtle. It is a pretty bad way to die.

Ouch, that's even worse! This is not an okay way to get rid of a puppy in my opinion, even if it's about to die anyway..

That's one ugly turtle. As for the dog story, I can't say I would do what the teacher did, but I also wouldn't want him fired over what he considered euthanasia. I bet the whole story has a lot more nuance than the news report anyways.

Yes, it might but are you really sure the turtle is ugly? Lol, because I thought, it looks cool as hell.

I'm one of the people who believe that there is more than one way you can do the help that sick puppy; feeding it to an alligator snapping turtle is not on my list.

Me too. Ewww

I think people just got overly paranoid by the teacher's action. Left to me, I really do not see the action of the teacher as being consequential, on another look, the teacher actually did well.

Well, actually, the owner of the puppy has the same opinion as you. If I were the teacher, I wouldn't have the courage to even consider to feed the sick puppy to the snapping turtle. I really can't see the reason though why the snapping turtle needs to be euthanised.

Wrong move and a bit cruel on the animal imo. I think the department just got overenthusiastic as to go as far euthanising the animal. The teacher could have passed as a good zookeeper.

My thought: so many idiots: the Idea state and the teacher...

Hahaha. Can't argue with that point.

Well, there is not much to argue... ;)

The only thing i thnk the teacher did wrong is drowning the dog. He should have euthanized the dog first before feeding the turtle.
Drowning it is just cruel.

Yeah, you are right.

Ever heard of an alligator snapping turtle?

Actually, I have.

I was going to put that youtuber video about those 2 similar turtles but you already did it.

Either way, he also made this video which was really dangerous :

That guy is kind of crazy haha.


And about the teacher decision to do that, I think he should have discussed it with other teachers instead of taking the decision without informing.

That guy was absolutely crazy! I love his channel.

are you mad what kinds of madness

I think such a deadly animal should not be kept in human environment. It is really dangerous having such around

Yeah, it is. They should be released into their natural habitat so that they can thrive better. An alligator snapping turtle which has been kept in captivity can only live up to 70 years while a wild-roaming free alligator snapping turtle would be able to live for a 100 years.

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