I photographed this guy while waiting out a lengthy thunderstorm
inside a trailside shelter at Corkscrew Swamp in Fla. The gator
was only about 3 feet beneath us, and 10 feet away, so it was a
little unnerving. About every 10 minutes or so, with what seemed
to be a great effort, it would flip the turtle up in the air and
crunch down on it. Unable to break through the turtle's carapace,
it would let out what sounded like a grunting sigh!
After several attempts, it finally succeeded in catching the turtle
vertically in its massive jaws, and with a thunderous crack!
finally broke that shell to pieces. Wish I would have caught that
moment on film.
Craig


am_alligator_eating_snapping_turtle.jpg


Comments
========
From: viper30029@aol.com (Viper30029)
Subject: Re: Am. Alligator eating a snapping turtle
Date: 07 Dec 1999 05:21:38 GMT

Sorry, that doesn't appear to be a Snapping Turtle. It looks
like it could be a Soft-shell Turtle, but I am not quite sure.
Kurt K
NEHS
http://www.neherp.com


Comments
========
From: "CCR"
Subject: Re: Am. Alligator eating a snapping turtle
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 08:27:17 -0500

> Sorry, that doesn't appear to be a Snapping Turtle. It looks
> like it could be a Soft-shell Turtle, but I am not quite sure.
Kurt K<<

I never saw any more of that turtle than what you see in the photo.
I made the assumption based soley on its size. Having checked my
"Golden Guide to Reptiles" I now see that soft-shells also get to be 18"
long, and the underbelly does look more like the photo.
Good observation, and thanks for the clarification. I'll go change
the filename now :-)
Craig