On Thursday, April 16, our class took a trip to T. O. Fuller State Park. There were only a few of us that showed up, so we slapped on our waders and made the best of it. The previous day a couple of traps had been set. Everyone was disappointed when the first trap was empty, but when we checked the second trap, we hit the jackpot! There were a couple of small mud turtles (not too terribly exciting) and a pretty good sized alligator snapping turtle, Macrochelys temminckii. He (or she?) had a huge tail and neck and really long claws. Alligator snapping turtles are traditionally found in the Mississippi River and its tributaries throughout the southeastern U.S. We managed to get a couple of pretty good pictures safely before we let the beast of a turtle go.
-Lindsey Stewart, TN
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