- I'm Coyote Peterson,
and you're never gonna believe what I just found living
underneath the lily pads in this lake.
(dramatic music)
Snapping turtles have been hailed throughout history
as swamp monsters,
famous for their incredible bite force
and prehistoric looking appearance.
Since childhood, these reptiles have both captivated
and encouraged me to follow my passion
of exploring the natural world
to get up close and personal with animals.
Today I'm in Columbus, Ohio
at Blendon Woods Metro Park.
Now this is a location that I've been doing research
on common snapping turtles at for five years now.
The team and I have special permissions to be off trail
to be able to go out in the water in a kayak.
And what I'm hoping to do today
is catch one of these turtles that I've been researching
so I can show you guys why this is my favorite reptile.
- [Voiceover] All right, I'm rolling.
All right, Coyote, tell us what you're doing
with this kayak.
- So I'm gonna use the kayak
to try to get myself close to the turtles.
When you see how much plant life is already grown in,
that means they're hiding under the algae,
hiding under the lily pads.
If I'm in the kayak, I can kinda coast along
the edge of the lily pads
and look for turtles that are up towards the surface
hunting for fish and tadpoles.
This will allow me to be standing on the kayak
and jump off into the water,
and try to get my hands on one.
All right, let's see if we can have some luck
finding ourselves a mud dragon.
Leaping from a kayak is the safest way
to capture one of these turtles.
And grabbing it by the back of the shell
will insure that no harm comes to me or the reptile.
(dramatic music)
Oh my gosh, it's a big turtle!
Whew!
Oh my gosh,
it is an absolute dinosaur.
Hold on, I'm sinking in the mud.
(dramatic music)
That is the common snapping turtle,
and he is about the size of a dinosaur.
Oh my gosh, he's a back breaker.
Look at that.
Wow!
My heart's beating out of my chest right now.
Wow.
Look.
That's about as close as you wanna get your face
to the face of a snapping turtle.
Look at those claws.
And I call these guys mud dragons
because they have those beautiful yellow eyes,
all these scales on the front of their feet,
and claws that just make you say,
"I don't wanna go swimming in the pond behind my house."
Yeah, I see you.
Look at his head.
His head is like the size of a softball.
And he's saying right now, "Go ahead,
"get your nose just a touch closer,
"and I will make dinner of it."
And what these turtles are doing right now
is floating at the surface looking for fish and tadpoles.
And this algae is exactly what they're floating in.
You can see the side of his head,
it's growing right on top of this guy's dome.
And that's how he's staying so camouflaged.
OK, so one thing I'm gonna show you guys
that is really unique
about the snapping turtle from any other turtle
is the bottom of the shell,
which is called the plastron.
And you see how small his plastron is.
You've got all this meat.
(snapping turtle hisses)
(exhales air) All this meat that's exposed,
that's why these reptiles have
kind of evolved with these incredible
dinosaur like qualities.
All these scales on the forelimbs,
this big protective shell,
that bite force, and these claws
pretty much say, "I'm the king of this wetland."
Good looking, good looking boy.
And I know this is a boy.
You can usually tell
because of the size.
The males get quite a bit larger than the females.
And then the male's tails are significantly longer.
And this guy just has an absolute dragon tail.
Can you see that from the side there?
They have these big scutes
on the back of their tails.
Look at that.
And that's about as prehistoric looking as you can get
for a reptile that lives here in Ohio.
All that algae that's growing on his face,
now when he's underwater,
his head basically looks like a floating rock,
and they can really slowly project that forward,
and as a fish gets closer,
that's when they snap.
And he's got dinner.
Respect, number one thing you have to have
whenever working with the common snapping turtle.
You get complacent for just a second,
and you're going home minus one finger.
Wow.
That was about the coolest experience
I could have had with my favorite turtle on the planet.
I'm sure that you guys have a bunch of questions
and some stories of your own about mud dragons,
so leave me your comments and your stories below.
I'm gonna let this guy go back out
so you can finish your hunting for the night, right?
I'm Coyote Peterson.
Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next adventure.
All right, let's go buddy.
(splashing)
There's no question about it,
these turtles have inspired my love
and admiration for the natural world
and all its amazing animals.
In part, they have been the reason
you are now about to join me on this journey
that will become known as Breaking Trail.
And it's my hope that through this series
you too will gain a new found love
for some of the coolest creatures on the planet.
If you thought that was one wild adventure,
check out these other animal encounters.
And don't forget, subscribe to follow me and the crew
on this season of Breaking Trail.