Wyoming Doesn’t Have Alligators…but it has GIANT Snappers

A Wyoming fly fishing guide shared a gem of a video on social media today of a big monster on the river bank:

Wyoming is home to four turtle species: three that live in water and one that lives on land.

Snapping turtles are aquatic and hang around lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams.

In Wyoming, aquatic turtles spend the winter underwater and below ice in ponds that don't freeze solid. This according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

Because their metabolism is so low when brumating, they require only small amounts of oxygen which they can get through parts of their skin with lots of blood vessels, like the inside of their mouth and even their rear ends.

Wyoming snappers have heavy bodies and can weigh between 10 and 35 pounds.

They have a Jurassic appearance, with saw-toothed tails that are nearly as long as their shells.

Their strong jaws exert 50 pounds of bite force, but these guys tend to gnaw on dead plants and animals for the most part, which makes them good waterway cleaner-uppers.

Snapping turtles typically only come on land to lay eggs, and that's when they are the most defensive, so watch out!

The University of Wyoming says that if you see a snapper crossing the road you can safely move it to one side by lifting under the shell by its back feet.

Never hold a snapping turtle by their tails because this can break their spines. And try to avoid the front of their bodies for obvious reasons.