WEBVTT - How Do Alligator Snapping Turtles Work? 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:08.440 Welcome to Brainstyck, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:14.240 Here question, but what does the biggest freshwater turtle in 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:18.120 North America have to do with a household cleaning implement? 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:22.520 The answer involves a well worn bit of folk wisdom. 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:26.000 A legend has it that the alligator snapping turtle can 0:00:26.079 --> 0:00:29.960 split a wooden broomstick in half with a single bite. 0:00:30.240 --> 0:00:33.800 These are big reptiles. They commonly reach about one hundred 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.680 and seventy five pounds that's eighty kilos, and they have 0:00:36.720 --> 0:00:41.000 an impressive byte strength, hence the name. The zoologist Peter 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:44.640 Charles Howard Pritchard actually tested this claim for his nineteen 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:47.960 eighty nine book The Alligator Snapping Turtle Biology and Conservation, 0:00:49.280 --> 0:00:52.680 when he pestered an alligator snapper weighing near that known 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.760 limit with a brand new broomstick. It grabbed hold of 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.680 the wood. The bite went deep, but failed to break 0:00:58.720 --> 0:01:02.960 the broomstick. However, as Pritchard tried to rest the stick free, 0:01:03.080 --> 0:01:06.520 the turtle finished the job, splitting the handle between its jaws. 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:09.360 It turns out that they have a bite force of 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:12.200 about one thousand pounds or four hundred and fifty kilos, 0:01:12.400 --> 0:01:16.160 which means that they can snap through bone, so probably 0:01:16.200 --> 0:01:20.720 avoid pestering these creatures. Alligator snappers deserve some respect as 0:01:20.760 --> 0:01:23.880 living creatures, not only because mishandling one could cost you 0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:28.240 a finger. Still, the turtles aren't normally aggressive around people. 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:31.720 If you live in the United States north of the 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:34.680 Rio Grande and east of the Rocky Mountains, you've probably 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:38.480 seen the alligator snapper's smaller cousin, the common snapping turtle. 0:01:39.760 --> 0:01:43.640 By most standards, the common snapper isn't that small. Its 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.560 shell can measure over eighteen inches long that's forty five 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:50.240 centimeters and anywhere from nine to thirty five pounds that's 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:53.840 four to sixteen kilos. This reptile far out weighs most 0:01:53.840 --> 0:01:57.120 of the sliders and painted turtles that share its native waters, 0:01:58.280 --> 0:02:02.520 but alligator snappers range for about that size too much bigger. 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:06.960 The species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that there are distinct 0:02:06.960 --> 0:02:10.880 differences in size or appearance between male and female specimens. 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:15.560 Adult female alligator snappers are about the same size as 0:02:15.639 --> 0:02:18.880 the largest common snapping turtles, but the adult males can 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:22.120 be twice that length and about five times heavier or 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:26.560 even more. Those titans qualify as some of the biggest 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:30.480 freshwater turtles alive today, and here on North American soil, 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:35.680 their size is totally unrivaled. Despite their names, though, the 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:40.520 common snapping turtle and alligator snappers aren't closely related. The 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:44.079 common snapper has an upper shell that's plated and smoothish 0:02:44.240 --> 0:02:48.000 and a long, flexible neck. The alligator snappers shell has 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.000 three prominent ridges with spikes that look a little bit 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:55.240 like giant rose thorns and a much shorter neck. Both 0:02:55.280 --> 0:02:57.919 have long tails with rows of sort of comb like 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:02.720 ridges called tubercles. The alligator snapper has similar prominent ridges 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:06.799 around its face, neck, and feet. The alligator snapper will 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.720 further be gray brown too dark brown in color, has 0:03:09.760 --> 0:03:13.120 a large head with a hooked beak, and unlike other snappers, 0:03:13.320 --> 0:03:15.480 their eyes are located on the sides of their head. 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:20.480 They really look like miniature kaiju. If you've never seen one, 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:22.600 look up pictures the next time you get a chance. 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.840 Alligator snappers live in the southern parts of the United 0:03:26.840 --> 0:03:29.400 States in bodies of water that drain into the Gulf 0:03:29.440 --> 0:03:33.760 of Mexico. Based on pretty recent research from the twenty teens, 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:37.680 there are at least two existing species, the alligator snappers 0:03:37.680 --> 0:03:40.480 of the Swanee River in Georgia to Florida and the 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:44.720 ones that live further west and north. There's a proposed 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:48.440 third species for the Apalachicola River around the Florida Panhandle, 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:50.920 but this is the sort of thing that biologists seem 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:56.160 to enjoy arguing about. Unlike most semi aquatic turtles, alligator 0:03:56.200 --> 0:03:59.800 snappers almost never leave the water except two lay eggs, 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:03.000 which the female turtles do on dry land in clutches 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:06.840 of ten to sixty. Alligator snappers do most of their 0:04:06.880 --> 0:04:10.400 basking beneath the water's surface, ischeeing the logs and dry 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.280 rock piles where other reptiles soak up sunlight. They have 0:04:14.320 --> 0:04:17.159 an affinity for deep rivers, but they're equally at home 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:22.400 in swamps, ponds, lakes, and canals. They're solitary creatures and 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:25.560 only come together to mate the hatchlings are on their own. 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:29.080 The turtles are most active at night, which is when 0:04:29.120 --> 0:04:34.200 they forage for food. Menu options include water, plants, fruits, seeds, 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.560 various dead things, and all sorts of live prey items 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:43.080 like frogs, snakes, snails, salamanders, leeches, crustaceans, other turtles and 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:48.840 even ducks, muskrats, beavers, and young crocodilians. Alligator snappers can 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:51.679 taste compounds in the water that lead them to their prey, 0:04:53.040 --> 0:04:58.200 but fish are their dietary cornerstone, and instead of chasing 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:03.080 them down, the turtles use la under. The alligator snapper's 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.839 tongue is a blood filled appendage that's pink in color 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:10.240 and shaped like a worm. By wriggling this and keeping 0:05:10.240 --> 0:05:13.720 the rest of its body absolutely still, the turtle draws 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:17.360 fish into its open maw. They're the only species in 0:05:17.400 --> 0:05:21.280 the world that does this. An alligator snapping turtle can 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:24.039 hold its breath for fifty minutes straight, giving it plenty 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.719 of time to wait for some curious critter to swim 0:05:26.760 --> 0:05:32.280 within striking distance. Adult alligator snappers stay underwater so long 0:05:32.360 --> 0:05:34.960 that they sometimes boast a carpet of algae along their 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:38.799 upper bodies. When algae grows on their shells, heads, and limbs, 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:42.279 it helps the turtles blend into muddy river bottoms, rendering 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:47.400 them all but invisible to fish. Hatchlings and juveniles are 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:51.080 beset by many predators, from raccoons to river otters, but 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.039 humans are the only species that adults have to fear 0:05:55.400 --> 0:05:57.400 due to a fad for turtle soup. In the nineteen 0:05:57.440 --> 0:06:01.480 sixties and seventies, populations of alligator snaps declined and even 0:06:01.520 --> 0:06:05.560 disappeared from rivers throughout their historic range. Commercial fishers were 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:10.120 harvesting tons every day in some places. A commercial harvest 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:14.000 has since been banned, though Mississippi and Louisiana allow restricted 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:19.360 recreational harvest. Nonetheless, these animals are considered threatened or even 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:22.200 endangered in some areas, and are still at risk from 0:06:22.240 --> 0:06:25.599 human activities in and around their habitats, from fishing and 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:30.719 other recreation to housing and industrial development. The US Fish 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:34.000 and Wildlife Service has been working on surveying their populations 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.240 to learn more about how we can better protect them. 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:40.200 If it stays out of danger, an alligator snapper can 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:43.480 live a few decades in the wild. One captive specimen 0:06:43.520 --> 0:06:46.600 was at least seventy years, four months and twenty six 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:54.440 days of age when it finally passed. Today's episode is 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:57.400 based on the article Alligator snapping Turtle's lore prey with 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:00.600 a wriggling wormlike tongue appendage on how Stuff Were dot Com, 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.960 written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio 0:07:04.000 --> 0:07:06.280 in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced 0:07:06.279 --> 0:07:09.760 by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts Myheart Radio, visit the 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.960 iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 0:07:12.960 --> 0:07:13.720 favorite shows.