Oh snap! Alligator snapper at risk for endangered list
The massive, and sometimes terrifying, alligator snapping turtle soon will be the subject of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study to examine possibly naming the animal an endangered or threatened species.
The snappers, which are the heaviest freshwater turtles in the world, are seeing a decrease in number as a result of several factors, according to Brett Hortman.
"What's hurting them is the loss of habitat," Hortman said, "either for urban development or draining wetlands and filling them in for development. So their habitat is lost. Also deprivation of their nests by raccoons. There's a lot more coons than there used to be. And the fact that in Louisiana, you can still catch (the turtles). There's a lot of states that have already put them on a state endangered list and they're protected. But in Louisiana, you can still take them."
Hortman, who serves as refuge manager for D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge and Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, said Louisiana's habitat is prime for the turtles.
"They normally like bayous and swampy land," he said. "Not a lot of moving water. Black Bayou Lake is a really good place for them. It's a swampy lake with some vegetation."
The turtles, which can reach 200 pounds and can live for longer than 100 years, will be put on a 12-month study.
John Carr, a University of Louisiana at Monroe biology professor who has spent an extensive amount of time studying alligator snappers, said they play a large role in the ecosystem.
"I usually think of them as a top predator in the ecosystems where they are," he said. "They get to the point where not even an alligator could mess with them. At Black Bayou Lake, where we study them a lot, I think of them and the alligators as the top aquatic predators in that ecosystem."
Carr said he is troubled by the decrease in younger turtles.
"There just doesn't seem to be much recruitment," he said. "It takes a long time for them to grow up. The ages would be like human ages before they became reproductive. The predation on nests in particular is so high. It's like a gamble."
At Black Bayou Lake, Carr said a lot of the turtles nest on a railroad track.
"The devastation there is very extensive by raccoons," he said. "There are other critters contributing to it as well. Everywhere I go I see nests destroyed by raccoons or some other predator."
Carr has studied how the turtles use their space and nest survival and is in the second year of a three-year study on alligator snapping turtles that have been reintroduced to the wild. Those reintroduced turtles are "having a very hard time surviving," he said.
Joe Clawson, director of the Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo, said the alligator snappers that are in the zoo's collection all came from people who donated them because they were concerned about the decreasing population.
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About the snapping turtle
• The alligator snapping turtle is found in many locations around the United States. The common areas are Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas. They are found almost exclusively in the rivers, canals, and lakes.
• The males are larger with a weight of about 175 pounds. They can range in length from 16 to 32 inches with the males being longer. The much smaller females top out at around 50 pounds.
• The alligator snapping turtle's normal lifespan is 20 to 70 years. Individuals have been known to live more than 100 years.
• Adult snappers have no natural predators other than humans, who capture them for their meat and shells, and to sell in the exotic animal trade.