Recently, an enormous snapping turtle was seen in the Mississippi River near Brainerd, Minnesota. The turtle, which has a head resembling Godzilla, was spotted and photographed by Shala Holm while she was kayaking with her daughter. In the photograph, the turtle’s head can be seen leading the way as its huge claws stretch into a net of fish. From the image alone, it is clear that this turtle is bigger than others.
Although the turtle’s appearance is intimidating, authorities have reassured people not to be concerned. The turtle is not dangerous and is simply searching for fish. The Department of Natural Resources estimates that the turtle is at least 15 years old and possibly as old as 30.
When Holm and her daughter first saw the turtle, they were in a tandem kayak. Holm’s daughter suddenly said, “Mom, be quiet. I can hear something breathing.” Holm was astonished to see the turtle’s nose heading towards a fish basket that hung from their kayak as she turned to search for something more common at the shore.
“He kind of clawed onto it,” she said. “He was so big, and we were so startled.” Holm shook the basket to frighten the turtle away, and it swam away.
The mother and daughter returned to the location the following day in their kayak to see if they could locate it again to take a picture. Catching fish while waiting for the turtle to return was their pass time.
“When you’re in a kayak, the beauty of it is you’re really close to the water,” Holm said. “So we were really quite close.”
Although they were unsure of the actual size of the reptile in the water, the mother and daughter were reasonably positive that it was a snapping turtle and that its legs were around the size of Holm’s wrists. Adult snapping turtles typically measure between 8 and 14 inches long and weigh between 10 and 35 pounds, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
Shala emailed the image to the DNR so they could gather further details. They estimated that the turtle was at least 15 years old and possibly as old as 30. After the resort’s proprietors decided to share Shala’s photo on their Facebook page, it quickly became popular. The resort’s owners, Corby and Sheila Niemeyer, have observed as the post received thousands of shares and nearly a thousand comments. Even media organizations interested in the subject have been in touch with Sheila.
“Most of them are like, is this really real?” she said. “It really is.”
The property is situated on a calm, sluggish portion of the Mississippi, north of Brainerd, according to the resort’s owner. There, they frequently encounter a variety of native fauna.
“Every June, we get a lot of turtles coming up on shore and they’re laying their eggs,” she said. “It’s one of our things we love is watching the turtles. So this was pretty crazy to see a big one like that.”
Many Facebook users have advised staying away from the water, but Sheila has clarified that it’s not as risky as it seems. “I think if you were to really look at any lake or river, you’re going to find all kinds of things you never thought of,” she said. “They leave you alone. They don’t want to be by you.”
In fact, she is hoping that the post’s popularity would encourage additional visitors to their resort. “I’m hoping it won’t be something negative because they think. ‘Oh my gosh, I’ll never go there. I don’t want to swim with that,'” she said. “For the most part, I don’t think you need to worry about that. But seeing the wildlife is just amazing.”