The ‘Alligator Snapping Turtle’ is given its name due to its immensely powerful jaws and distinct ridges on its shell that are similar in appearance to the rough, ridged skin of an alligator. And they look frightening.
You wouldn’t want to get your hand caught in between the jaws of one of these bad boys!
These turtles are not native to Washington D.C., so when one began roaming in a D.C. suburb, residents were rather shocked. Oh, and the one found in D.C., was a whopping 65-pounds.
The Fairfax County Police reported that they started to get calls about the terrifying creature and alerted animal control back in June of this year.
via: Facebook / Fairfax County PD
“Our Animal Protection Police (APP) received a call about a large turtle that was repeatedly crossing the road in a residential area of Alexandria,” the Fairfax County Police Department wrote in a June 15 Facebook post alongside pictures of the menacing-looking turtle.
“Much to their surprise, it was a 65-pound alligator snapping turtle!”
via: Facebook / Fairfax County PD
“The ‘common’ snapping turtle is the species native to Virginia, while the alligator snapping turtle is native to river drainages that flow in the Gulf of Mexico, east to Georgia and the panhandle of Florida, and westward to East Texas,” the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wrote on in a June 11 Facebook post.
via: Facebook / Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Authorities believe that the turtle was bred in captivity and then released into the wild. Which isn’t cool by the way — don’t do that.
And thankfully, the APP safely captured the large animal and transported it to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter before the county’s Wildlife Management Specialist arranged to transfer the turtle to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
via: Facebook / Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
There, they named him Lord Fairfax before he found a permanent home at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk.
And the zoo went on to rename him Yidaro.
Luckily there was a happy ending for Yidaro! There is no doubt this bad boy will live out decades at the zoo — safe and sound!