The creatures are more commonly found in freshwater rivers and swamps in the southern parts of the US
    • mars296@kbin.social
      3·
      10 months ago

      I doubt there is a definitive answer if this is the first one they found. Considering it’s native to warm weather areas I doubt it would become invasive in Northern England. They did say it seemed to be doing poorly.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    3·
    10 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    A dangerous turtle capable of biting through bones has been found in a tarn in Cumbria.

    An alligator snapping turtle, which is usually found in swamps and freshwater rivers in Florida, Texas and other southern parts of the United States, are known to have extremely powerful jaws.

    The creature was spotted by Great Urswick residents in the tarn – which is a small lake – on the edge of the village.

    After it was identified, parish councillor Denise Chamberlain took it to Wild Side Vets in Barrow.

    The animals are known for their stocky armoured carapcae, which gives them a prehistoric appearance that often draws comparisons to dinosaurs.

    Unlike other species of snapping turtles, their eyes are located on the sides of their head rather than their front, while their tails are long and thick.

    The original article contains 237 words, the summary contains 135 words. Saved 43%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!

  • xor@infosec.pubEnglish
    41·
    10 months ago

    i saw one of these in my local pond as a kid…
    thought i was tripping but then the adults confirmed that was an alligator snapping turtle…
    i even looked it up in the encyclopedia
    for some reason, these things haunted me more than the actual alligators in florida