Reptile & Amphibian Forums

KMTR (Eugene, Oregon) 21 October 13 'I’d hate to see these turtles get established in Oregon'
[COLOR="#006400"]Photo @ URL: Alligator Snapping Turtle found in Prineville Reservoir. (ODFW)
Bend, Ore.: Alligator. Snapping. Turtle.
Yikes.
A man reported seeing the giant turtle in Prineville Reservoir while on a fishing trip last week.
The culprit: a turtle native to the American South but foreign to the Northwest.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the capture of an alligator snapping turtle is a first for Eastern Oregon.
And while it is rare to find them in Western Oregon, ODFW Invasive Species Coordinator Rick Boatner, said ODFW has had reports of alligator snapping turtles.
“I’d hate to see these turtles get established in Oregon," said Boatner. "We already have problems in the Willamette Valley with common snapping turtles.”
Officials said the alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in North America, and can grow up to 250 pounds.
Department biologist Simon Wray said he thinks it was a pet that someone released into the reservoir.
“People get these turtles when they are small," Wray said, "and release them when they get too big and aggressive to keep as pets."
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STATESMAN JOURNAL (Salem, Oregon) 26 October 13 In the digital age, a turtle can attain celebrity in a snap (Michael Davis)
Many mini-thoughts:
Until last week, I had never heard of an alligator snapping turtle.
But thanks to a couple of stories that went absolutely bonkers at StatesmanJournal.com, I am now acquainted with a fresh-water reptile (on the half shell) that can weigh up to 250 pounds.
These turtles, which are neither teenage nor Ninja, can nonetheless be as annoying as a 14-year-old and as sneaky as covert assassin. They do appear to be mutant, however.
The first known appearance of the alligator snapping turtle in the wilds of Eastern Oregon occurred earlier this month when the creature was removed from the Prineville Reservoir, most likely disagreeably. In the photo, biologist Jason Journey is smiling but the turtle clearly is not.
Note to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: Hey, I’m just the messenger here.
Our stories about the AST (my abbreviation, not one from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife) generated more than 17,000 page views at our website. For a little perspective, a morning-after story about the State of the Union address might get 2,000 views, but only if a member of Congress leaped to his feet and shouted “You lie!” to the president. Like that could happen.
In discussing the turtle during one of our town-hall style morning news meetings, it was learned that outdoors columnist Henry Miller, the Mid-Valley’s fishing and hunting sherpa, had a nasty run-in with an AST during his halcyon days in Texas.
So gripping was the yarn, as told by our master storyteller, that we videotaped it to share with you. You can find it online at StatesmanJournal.com/Outdoors.
Apparently, the Eastern Oregon AST materialized after a pet owner discarded it. One wonders if the culprit told his children that he found a nice home for their turtle on a farm just outside town.
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STATESMAN JOURNAL (Salem, Oregon) 27 October 13 Few options for non-native invasive species, like recently found alligator snapping turtle (Henry Miller)
Rick Boatner wasn’t exactly feeling the love after the story appeared this week about the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife killing a 10-pound alligator snapping turtle that was captured by biologists on Oct. 18 at Prineville Reservoir.
Boatner, the department’s terrestrial Invasive species and wildlife integrity coordinator, got a raft of angry emails and calls after the article appeared and the story was broadcast, almost all of them from out of state, he said.
“We got a lot of complaints about the snapping turtle, ‘why didn’t we go out and try and find somebody who would take it?” Boatner said about the non-native invasive that probably got into the Central Oregon lake as a pet dump. “In the past when we’ve gone out and try and find places to place them, we spend a lot of time making a lot of phone calls. And a lot of people don’t want them, even the states in the South.
“We used to ship snapping turtles back there, and they finally said the disease issue’s too big. We don’t want turtles. They’re worried about the disease issue as well as the genetics.”
The turtle’s natural range is the southeast and as far west and north as Kansas and Illinois, Boatner said, “and there’s different genetic makeup within those species, so if you send them to the wrong area you can dilute the genetics, and you don’t want that to happen.”
Oregon already is expending a lot of money and man hours, both by Fish and Wildlife staff and volunteers, battling invasive turtles and a host of other non-native invasives.
“This common snapping turtle was found on a bike path in Tualatin,” Boatner said, holding up a dark brown shell the size of a soup tureen. “And the good part it was found by the husband of someone who used to work for us, so he called us.

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