When you hear the word ‘turtle’, you most likely imagine a rather placid animal that takes its time (or not!) and likes eating lettuce leaves. But this video might change your mind, as it shows another side to this hard-shelled reptile! For a reason that still eludes us, this animal expert decided to provoke one of them, but not just any. A fearsome snapping turtle.
Discover our latest podcast
This video clip was taken from an episode of the series Dragon Tails in which animal expert and adventurer Coyote Peterson takes on all kinds of challenges. And this video is no exception!
Powerful beak-like jaws
A turtle bite doesn’t sound very painful, does it? Unless you're talking about a snapping turtle anyway! This creature, originally from the south of the United States, is a terrifying freshwater predator. With its dark shell covered in large, sharp scales, it is also reminiscent of another fearsome reptile: an alligator. It has a sort of sharp, hook on the end of its jaw that resembles a beak.
This beak is what helps the predator to catch and trap its prey. Although it is known for being quite aggressive, it is also quite a perseverant creature which can weigh up to 100kg even though it measures less than a meter long. They patiently wait, completely still, until an animal gets a bit too close to its open beak. And then its terrible jaws violently clamp down.
Holes in his skin
And Coyote, an animal expert and adventurer, no doubt as crazy as he is reckless, decided to put this powerful bite to the test. After first testing it on a turkey leg that was almost shredded from the encounter, he then decided to offer up his arm. But beforehand, he took some precautions and wrapped his arm in a kind of protective layer made out of adhesive tape and bamboo. And quite unsurprisingly, the adventurer ended up having his arm crushed by the animal’s incredible strength, finally piercing the protective layer and leaving two bloody holes in his skin.
