Maws: A Close Encounter with a Ravenous Alligator Snapper

I've chanced across wild alligator snapping turtles several times in my life, and seeing one again recently triggered memories of the hair-raising encounter I had as a cub scout, when I was a boy.

Our troop was having a picnic in an idyllic setting of tree-dappled meadows on a century-old farm in Michigan. The manicured landscaping and tidy grounds were delightful, and gave no hint of that anything might be amiss. After the picnic lunch, I was exploring the grounds, looking for bullfrogs along the brook that flowed across the grounds. I came to a road crossing that had a simple stone bridge set over a concrete culvert.

Sitting on the side of the bridge was a very pretty little girl in a pink and red dress, who was dangling her feet in the water, playing in the rippling currents with her toes. Even as young as I was, I couldn't help but notice her bright blue eyes, rosy cheeks and ruby-red lips. She looked like one of my grandmother's dolls.

As I drew closer to the bridge, about six feet away, I leaned over the brook to look into the culvert. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light inside, I saw some slow movement inside, a dark shadow moving toward the opening. I couldn't make out any shape, and I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or not. I squinted and shaded my eyes from the sunlight.

A shape started to emerge in the dark water, and rise ever-so gradually from the bottom of the brook. The water was about three and an half feet deep there. The shape looked like a small log at first. Slowly though, the shape shifted. It seemed to split slowly open and was a lighter shade inside the opening gap. With a sudden shock of horror, I realized it was a huge snapping turtle reaching up with his long neck and sharp, jagged bill for the little girl's feet!

Panic and instinct took over. Without thinking, I sprang into the air like a deranged linebacker and slammed into the girl with a flying tackle. There was no finesse in the maneuver and we both tumbled back and skidded onto the gravel bed of the road, kicking up dust and getting a bit scraped up as well.