NEW ORLEANS -- It's a marvelously ugly beast, with spiked and ridged armor, a sharply hooked beak, a fishing lure in its mouth and a nasty bite. But the alligator snapping turtle's hard shell holds ...

Who can resist that face? While the alligator snapping turtle might look like a giant beetle made from volcanic rock, these unique creatures are native to Kansas’ rivers — and they’re about to make a ...

Snapping turtles evolved their lightning-fast bite because their shells can’t fully protect them. Without the option to hide, ...

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in a press release that a prehistoric species of turtle native to Florida is officially a federally threatened species under the Endangered ...

The famed snapping turtle, dubbed “Chonkosaurus” by internet commentators when pictures of her basking on a Chicago River pylon first went viral in summer 2023, reappeared earlier this week. The ...

Snapping turtles often get a bad reputation for their hooked jaws and rugged appearance. They look like creatures built only for defense, but the truth is far more interesting. These reptiles have ...

Turtles aren’t known for their speed. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. (Slow and steady wins the race and all that.) But one type of turtle is actually incredibly quick, at least with its ...

My first sighting of a snapping turtle this spring seemed an auspicious start to turtle season. Some teenage boys had pulled their car to the side of the road, warning lights flashing, and were out ...

Alligator snapping turtles haven’t been seen in the wild in Kansas since 1991. But in the fall of 2024, the state plans to reintroduce them to local waterways. Kansas Aquatic Species Recovery Program ...