- Several aquatic turtles were found this month on the banks of the Garonne.
- Native to North America, they were entrusted by the gendarmes to a Dordogne zoo.
- This carnivorous species is dangerous for humans but also for endemic turtles.
In early May, in full confinement, a family living in a barge moored in Ramonville, on the Canal du Midi, discovered three small turtles living in the water. On May 26, another specimen of the same species was discovered at the play area of the Cinquante farm, a few meters from where the first turtles had been found.
But this time, it was 25 cm and looked much less cute than its young fellows. The gendarmes of Haute-Garonne, who inherited it, first believed that the small ones, provided with rows of spades on the back, were alligator turtles, a species capable of cutting your finger with its jaw.
In reality, all of them would be snapping turtles, as harmless as their alligator cousins. "They are all aquatic turtles native to North America, they are snarling and dangerous", explains 20 Minutes Roland Collebrusco from the Mescoules zoo in Dordogne, where the turtles have found refuge.
This carnivorous species can measure up to 80 cm and reach 100 kg. “But even if she is only 50 kg, she is aggressive because she is used to hunting, unlike the land turtles who are content with grass. She has like a parrot's beak, a real pruning shears, ”continues the specialist.
At the expense of endemic species
Beyond fish, it can attack birds and is therefore quite fast and lively. If zoos like that of Roland Collebrusco are authorized to hold this species, this is not the case for individuals.
But it was certainly one of them who released the largest, aged 15 to 20 years. And this turtle can be the mother of the smallest. “She was certainly bought in a pet store when it was still possible, then was released. They have been found in nature for quite some time. The risk is that we end up with the same problem as that of the Florida turtles, considered as an invasive exotic species, today well established and which reproduces without any problem ”, notes the animal capacity.
Beyond its aggressiveness, the snapping turtle could harm local biodiversity and endemic species like the muddy turtle, which is currently in decline.
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