Snappers often live under the ice all winter.
The common snapping turtle is an extremely hardy reptile that makes its home in countless bodies of water across North America. These turtles have strong jaws that can inflict quite a bit of damage. They are normally quite aggressive in their defense if humans mess with them.
However, in the case of this video, this turtle is extremely sluggish. That's because Youtuber Tim KJ catches the turtle in the dead of winter. The turtle is still not in a great mood, but it also does not have a ton of energy.
So, he decides to bust through the ice and get some easy turtle soup. It makes for one of the easiest turtle catches ever.
These turtles sure are ugly. They have a face that only a mother could love, but they do make for good eating when prepared properly.
Snapping turtles are normally fast underwater, but with low water temperatures, this guy was not in any mood to move quickly. It also probably did not expect an ambush through the ice. This turtle is quite common in northern states where the lakes spend most of the winter covered with ice. Some turtles go into hibernation. However, others, like the one we saw here, may spend the entire winter swimming around under the ice.
These reptiles have special membranes in their throat and mouth that allow them to do this. The membranes gather small amounts of oxygen while completely buried in mud. Other turtles may draw from built-up fat reserves during the colder months. This is one of the more amazing aspects of this species. They can go a full four to five months without taking a breath!
Hey, when you aren't finding any geese, might as well get some meat to take home for the cook pot!
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.
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