PRATT TRIBUNE (Kansas) 02 May 08 Century-old turtle at home with KDWP; Alligator snapper matches years with pounds (Gale Rose)
A 100-year-old alligator turtle lies with its mouth open in a water tank at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Education Center and Museum. The turtle weighs about 100 pounds and is the newest exhibit in the aquarium section.
Turtle lovers are getting a rare treat at the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Education Center and Museum.
The newest display in the center aquariums is a rare alligator snapping turtle. Weighing in at over 100 pounds, the alligator turtle is estimated to be over 100 years old, said KDWP Education Center Coordinator Chris Shrack.
The huge turtle was recently acquired by the center and has become a favorite attraction. Formerly stored but not displayed at the Sternberg Museum at Fort Hays State University, the turtle was confiscated from a turtle collected in Arkansas that made improper reports and through some connections was sent to the Sternberg Museum, said Ken Brunson, wildlife diversity coordinator.
The turtle was at the Sternberg for a year and was used for lectures but not displayed. The KDWP Museum found out about the turtle and, working with Travis Taggart, Sternberg Museum associate curator of herpetology, the turtle, and a much smaller female, are now at home in Pratt.
The turtle is impressive. It is so big Shrack said they didn't think it would fit in their tanks. Its massive head features a hook on its upper jaw to grasp fish as they swim close to it. The turtle's mouth has an appendage that resembles a worm and the turtle uses it to attract fish to its jaws, Shrack said.
"It (appendage) looks like a live worm. It'll sucker a fish into the turtle's mouth," Shrack noted.
The turtle is fed a diet of liver and crayfish. He may not eat often but when he does he makes it count.
"I feed him twice a week. He eats a lot," Shrack said.
Alligator turtles are omnivores (they eat anything) and will set themselves in mud near shores and wait for fish to come by. Although they are air breathers they can spend up to an hour under water, according to the KDWP web site.
Whenever the turtle needs to be moved, a unique physical feature helps keep the handler safe. Alligator snappers can only move their heads from side to side and not up and down so it can't lift its head and bite when it is moved, Shrack said.
Alligator snapping turtles are rare in Kansas with just a dozen officially recorded and all in the southeast portion of the state. The largest alligator snapper on record was found in Georgia and weighed in at 318 pounds, according to the web site.
The alligator turtle is on display in a tank next to the state record regular snapping turtle that weighs in at 45 pounds and was caught near Haven. It has been on display for over a year. The alligator turtle dwarfs the regular snapping turtle.
Education Center hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with summer Saturday hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Alligator snapper matches years with pounds