NewsflareSometimes you can think animals are harmless, but be mistaken. With a snapping turtle however, the clue is in the name – it snaps. One guy didn’t seem to take that into account when he held one up to his face.
I’m not really sure what this guy was expecting to happen when he decided to get up close and personal with a snapping turtle. He might have been hoping for a gentle kiss, but of course, it wouldn’t be a snapping turtle without some snapping.
Turtles can sometimes use their shells for protection against anything unwanted getting too close, and I’m sure this guy wished this particular turtle had chosen that course of action rather than its snapping reflex.
Check out the brutal video here:
The footage was taken in Burlington, Massachusetts, where the guy seemed to poorly misjudge how much his gentle strokes had soothed the turtle.
He scratched the turtle’s shell, jokingly saying ‘Who’s a good boy?’ as he pampered the reptile.
While he might have thought the turtle was gazing up at him with admiration, it seems it was actually planning its time to strike.
Seeing its opportunity, the ferocious animal’s neck suddenly shot from the protection of its shell and stretched up towards the man’s face, just as he was pretending to kiss it.
Maybe the turtle was just trying to kiss him back?
Regardless of its intentions, the turtle clamped its jaws on the man’s face, before pulling away just as fast. The victim of the turtle’s snap screamed out in pain, yelling ‘Ow!’ as he moved the turtle to a much safer distance from his face.
Hopefully the experience will have taught him to be more cautious when it comes to handling animals that are named after their methods of attack.
NewsflareOne guy had a much better approach to turtle-handling when he came across one of the reptiles that had become lost.
The man, named Sennen, found the turtle when he was on a bike ride with his mother, and embarked on a rescue mission to get the water-dwelling creature back to its natural habitat.
The cyclist cradled the turtle in his arm as he rode towards water, cleverly facing the turtle’s head away from his body.
Sennen explained what happened, saying:
My mother and I were on a bike ride on some back roads near our house and on a trail I saw a peculiar rock and a trail of sand shuffled behind it, so I slammed on the brakes and turned around as I recognised it as a turtle.
Next, we did a quick scan wondering where he came from, but there was no water in sight, so we got on the bikes and rode all the way to the lake as quickly as possible and returned him safely.
Thankfully, Sennen and the turtle made it safely to the water without any injuries, and the turtle swam away looking as happy as turtles can look.
Which, for the record, is not like the snapping turtle in the earlier video.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to [email protected].
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.