That's not something you catch every day!
If there's one thing we love about fishing and the outdoors, it's that one just never knows what types of wildlife they may encounter every time they head out. Some days you may target the exact giant fish you were hoping to catch. Other days you may catch some other critter that comes as a total surprise. Today's video just happens to fall in the latter category of those two adventures.
YouTuber Ty PigPatrol is no stranger towards catching some true river monsters. Today he's fishing a muddy section of river that's clearly within the city limits somewhere. There's an ever-present rumble of traffic in the background. Still, that doesn't mean there's no wildlife in the area.
That becomes even more evident when he sets his hook on something big and heavy in the middle of the river. When he pulls it to the surface, it just happens to be a living dinosaur. An alligator snapping turtle, and it's a big one!
No matter how many times we see someone catch one of these alligator snapping turtles, we will never cease to be amazed not only of their size, but of the prehistoric look of these endangered reptiles. Their heavily armored shells give these reptiles one of the coolest looks in the animal kingdom.
And if you want to talk about a true survivor, the alligator snapper is it. These turtles were on the planet approximately 90 million years ago. They literally watched the dinosaurs come and go! Humans have had a devastating effect on this species, mostly from overharvesting. However, it's good to see a survivor like this continues to adapt. We never would have expected such a beast to be hiding in a river like this within the city limits. However, maybe that's a perfect spot for it. This section of river probably sees little human traffic, giving it a place to live in peace.
This turtle was considerably less grumpy than the last one Ty caught. We're not sure how he got the hook out without getting chomped, but kudos to him for getting that done and releasing this beast back into the river where it belongs. We just appreciate the chance to get a good look at one up close!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
NEXT: BRAVE NOODLER WRESTLES RIDICULOUSLY LARGE ALLIGATOR SNAPPING TURTLE
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