Saco River Snapping Turtle

During the summer of 1987 my wife and I were living in Acton Mass. and attending the First Baptist Church in Littleton, Mass. One weekend a group from the church went canoeing down the Saco River in New Hampshire. It was on this trip that I happened to find the largest turtle I have ever seen in the wild.

In most places the water was not very deep but it was quite clear. As we were coasting down stream someone spotted a turtle moving along the bottom. I had always been interested in turtles as a kid - I remember that my parents often would stop the car when we saw one on the side of the road so that I could look at it and then move it away from the road. But I had never seen a turtle this size! This was a BIG turtle. All of a sudden I had the urge to investigate it more closely. Without giving it much thought, I jumped over, reached under the water, grabbed the turtle from behind and picked it up.

It turned out to be a snapping turtle, not the typical box turtle that I was used to. The shell about 15 or 18 inches across and about 20 or 25 inches long. It had rather dangerous-looking claws (actually, let me just say dangerous, forget the "looking" part) and a long, rough tail. It apparently did not share my enthusiasm and seemed most interested in getting away.

I showed it off for a few pictures, but just after these pictures were taken, the turtle figured out how to reach my hands with it's back claws. I quickly dropped it back into the water and turned to climb into my canoe. I didn't actually see it happen, but others told me that the turtle turned and tried to bite me as I climbed back into my canoe.

The pastor was also with us on the trip, and he spent the next five minutes chasing after the turtle (in his canoe) trying to get a "turtle bite" on his paddle. He was not successful.