TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida wildlife officials have trapped a Suwanee alligator snapping turtle that weighs a whopping 100 pounds.
Photos provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission show the massive turtle, which was found along the New River last week.
Biologists had set six hoop net traps in the area and caught the 100-pound male along with a 46-pound female and another 64-pound male.
The New River is a blackwater stream that runs throughout South Florida. It has low biological productivity, so finding a turtle of this size there is a rare occurrence.
The alligator snapping turtle is protected as a State Species of Special Concern by Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Species Rule.