Residents in a quiet Virginia neighborhood were caught off guard when a massive alligator snapping turtle crawled its way into their streets around May and June.
The public became wary of the unwelcome guest and called the Fairfax County Police. The police department delegated the issue to animal control.
The massive turtle weighed 65-pounds, which, according to the Animal Protection Police, is still just a baby.
Better hope to never run into him once he is full grown. Might look closer to Godzilla.
“Many species of turtle can live a minimum of 50 years and others more than 100,” the APP said. “At 65 lbs, this one was a youngster, as this species can reach weights exceeding 200 lbs. Our native snapping turtle only reaches a maximum weight of around 50 lbs.”
The Washington D.C. suburb does not usually see creatures like this crawling down its street. In fact, animal control said the animal isn’t indigenous to the area at all.
In a Facebook post from June, the Fairfax County Police Department wrote, “Our Animal Protection Police (APP) received a call about a large turtle that was repeatedly crossing the road in a residential area of Alexandria. Much to their surprise, it was a 65-pound alligator snapping turtle!”
According to another Facebook post made by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, alligator snapping turtles live near the Gulf of Mexico. “Is native to river drainages that flow in the Gulf of Mexico, east to Georgia and the panhandle of Florida, and westward to East Texas.”
Relocation of the Huge Turtle
The massive beast was thought to be raised in captivity, so it could not be released back into the wild. The turtle bounced from home to home once captured by the Animal Protection Police.
They gave the turtle to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter until the county’s Wildlife Management Specialist decided to move him again to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Here they named the foster turtle, Lord Fairfax.
Officials relocated Lord Fairfax once more to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk. The Zoo gave him a new and final name, Yidaro.
Here, Yidaro…Lord Fairfax…Godzilla…can grow old and massive while surrounded by other prehistoric-looking beasts.
[H/T New York Post]
