“Look at this guy. We got a picture of this most beautiful sight. Look at the size of that ... thing,” he says, using an expletive. “Look at that beast. Hey, how ya doing, guy? You look good. You’re healthy.”
Chris Anchor, the chief wildlife biologist with Forest Preserves of Cook County, said the snapping turtle Santore filmed was quite rare, considering its apparent size. It was unusual for the reptiles to be seen basking along rivers, but it probably recently emerged from hibernation.
“So my guess is that this animal had crawled out of the river to try and gather as much heat as it could in the sunshine,” Anchor told WMAQ-TV.
While it’s difficult to determine exactly how large the turtle is from the video alone, Anchor called it “a very large individual”. And he noted that snapping turtles are not picky eaters.
“Turtles this big will consume anything they can get their mouth around,” he said, adding that anyone encountering a snapping turtle should not disturb it or try to catch it.
“Enjoy it. Leave it alone.”