A gentleman called last Saturday to describe a unique problem: a giant snapping turtle had taken up residence in his garage under his workbench. He had tried to move it, but said the turtle was too large and too heavy and generally not very cooperative. So we got his address and went to see if we could help. And sure enough, we found one of the most enormous snapping turtles we had ever seen firmly encamped under his workbench, taking up the entire space!

She was not interested in moving, which makes sense. She had found a nice, sheltered place with a cool concrete floor to camp out on a hot day. The garage was between a marshy creek and a lake. So we made a plan to scoop her out of there and get her back to where she belonged.
We carefully pulled her out from under the workbench using a musky net. She snapped at us several times, but we eventually eased her out. After a quick exam to ensure she wasn’t sick or injured, we decided it was time to get her to the water. There was just one problem. She was too heavy to lift and carry to the water without getting bitten.

We didn’t have a scale, but when Bryon lifted her while still in the net, she felt heavier than a “full-sized bag of dog food.” The turtle shell measured 24″ long by 21″ wide with a circumference of 70″. From tail to nose, she was over 4′ long! So she probably weighed between 40 lbs. and 50 lbs. It is impossible to know this turtle’s age, but by its size, it could easily be 70 years old.

Thankfully, the owner had a hand truck, which we could use to move her. The turtle had become tangled in the net, but we got her back in the water with some careful patience and quick reflexes!

You can help animals like these by donating to the Northwoods Wildlife Center. We are a 501-c3 non-profit organization that relies on donations to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife that needs our help.