Original subtitles

Coyote: There he is! It's like the loch ness monster.

This is unreal.

Go.

♪

♪

I got him! I got him!

-Right here. -He's pulling me back!

Coyote: My name is coyote peterson,

And I've traveled the world

Seeking out the most fascinating animals on our planet.

Look at that.

No matter the location,

My mission has always been the same --

To get up close and uncover the secrets of the creatures

That we often misunderstand, even worse, fear.

Every animal has a story and I brave the wild to tell it.

-- Captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by discovery communications

The very origin of my fascination with animals

Began with an elusive reptile known as the snapping turtle.

Look at that dragon, my goodness.

[ grunts ]

These swamp monsters captured my attention

From a very young age and played a crucial role

In honing my ability to interact with dangerous animals.

From daring leaps after common snappers

In the murky waters of ohio's wetlands...

Wow, look at that.

...To heart-racing moments with alligator snappers

In swamps of the deep south...

Oh, that is a good-size turtle! Yes!

...These prehistoric-looking reptiles

Took hold of my imagination and never let go.

I've caught some big turtles,

But I've always dreamed of landing the world record.

On this adventure, I'm going after what could be

The largest living alligator snapping turtle on the planet.

With a head the size of a basketball and jaws

Powerful enough to break bones,

This enormous turtle is rumored to be over 100 years old,

And my mission is to safely catch and figure out

If this legendary turtle of texas is a new world record.

♪

♪

My journey began in the small rural town of newbury, ohio,

Where each and every summer I spend countless hours

Searching the swamps for common snapping turtles.

As the years passed, my adventures became more grand,

And I recognized that my life's mission

Was to teach the world about wildlife.

Oh, oh, he's trying to bite me.

Wow, look at that.

Traveling the globe, I have been lucky enough

To get up close and personal

With many of our planet's most fascinating creatures,

Yet there's one place I always come back to,

A protected wetland in central ohio called thoreau lake.

For more than a decade,

I have been collecting biometrics

And monitoring the health of the population of common

Snapping turtles that live in this body of water,

So it's only fitting that I return to visit

Some old friends before heading south

Where I will attempt to land the legendary turtle of texas.

♪

The technique for catching a snapping turtle,

I gear myself up with cameras.

I put a gopro on my shoulder.

I'll put a gopro on the kayak

Because I always want to capture that moment of the catch.

You never know what the next turtle is going to be,

And the next one could be

A world-record-size snapping turtle.

All right, here we go.

It's time to catch a turtle.

And the reason I use a kayak

Is because it puts me at a higher level above the water.

Now if you were to sit and row,

You can sometimes see turtles moving along the surface,

But if you're standing, which is a bit of a balancing act,

I can row and then look straight down into the water,

And on a perfectly sunny day,

You can see straight down to the bottom

And see those dragons moving across the mud.

♪

Whoo!

That's a big turtle!

Whoa!

♪

Oh!

Oh!

I lost him!

It's a dangerous challenge,

And if I'm in water over my head,

I have to be very careful because if a turtle

That weighs 40 or 50 pounds latches onto your body

And you start getting tangled up into plants,

Into weeds, your clothes fill up with water,

You're gonna sink, and you're gonna drown,

And I think probably the worst way to go

Would be death by snapping turtle,

But it's certainly risk I'm always willing to take

To get up close with these animals.

♪

♪

Big turtle! Here we go! Bringing him up!

Look at that!

That is a huge dragon!

♪

Wow, okay. We have got our turtle.

I got to get over to shore.

♪

Jeez, that's a big turtle. Come down.

Okay. Wow.

And that turtle probably weighs close to 50 pounds.

Now the snapping turtle gets its name, of course,

From that powerful bite,

And those jaws are bone-crushing.

If I were to get my fingers stuck into the mouth

Of that turtle, there's a good chance

I would not be getting it back.

One distinct feature that separates this turtle

From other turtle species is its shell.

Now the top of the shell -- whoa! Watch out for that bite.

Is called the carapace.

You can see just how massive this turtle truly is

When I set it in water like that,

But the underside of the snapping turtle,

Which is called the plastron, is very distinct.

Do you see how small the underside of this turtle is?

Their arms and legs are not capable of being tucked

Into the shell like other turtle species.

That's why they have developed

These incredibly defensive traits.

Watch yourself.

I'm bringing the turtle back down here in front. Okay.

Let me get it back up on my knee. [ groans ]

That is an absolute dinosaur right there.

As we know, turtles are no way related to dinosaurs,

But turtles and their ancestors have been on the planet

For more than 200 million years, and you can see

That just the evolutionary state of this turtle

Has not taken it far from prehistoric times.

And one of the most terrifying things about a snapping turtle

Is that if you're in this environment

And you come across those jaws and you get caught,

You are alive when it begins to eat you.

Now the reason that I wanted to catch a turtle this size was

So that you could get an idea of

Just how big these reptiles can grow,

But believe it or not, the common snapping turtle

Has an even larger cousin.

The alligator snapping turtle

Is the largest freshwater turtle in north america,

But to catch that species,

We're gonna have to head down to the swamps of south texas.

They say that everything is bigger in texas,

And when it comes to their turtles, they aren't kidding.

The alligator snapping turtle

Is native to the southeastern united states,

And it's here in the murky waters of artesian lakes

Where a world record may be hiding.

♪

Some that have seen this turtle claim

It's the size of a small car.

Others think it's old enough to have been alive

During the civil war,

But everyone who has been witness to this reptile agrees

That it's the biggest turtle they have ever seen,

Including myself.

In fact, this is not the first time

I have gone on a mission after this legend, known as raphael.

Back in 2016, a video of this gargantuan swamp monster

Circulated online,

And its size and comparison to an american alligator

Appeared too big to be true.

Oh! Oh!

So alongside wildlife biologist mario aldecoa,

I headed to the lone star state

To determine if this turtle was truly

As big as the tall tales made him out to be.

Rumored to live just below an easy accessible deck,

It wasn't long before we spotted him,

And raphael was every bit as big as the rumors had promised.

But as I prepared my first attempt at a catch,

Raphael recognized my presence in the environment,

Disappeared into the depths and didn't show himself again.

Without a catch, I wasn't able to collect biometrics,

So I left texas empty-handed

And more determined than ever to land this living legend.

To help with my efforts, I'll be teaming up with carl franklin

And viviana ricardez of texas turtles.

This conservation group

Specializes in tracking the health

And well-being of the turtle populations

Here in the lone star state.

What's exciting is that they have never studied

This specific population and like me,

Are very interested in a turtle the size of raphael.

♪

It's down in this water where we have seen

This legendary turtle known as raphael.

He could be world-record size.

-He's a very unique turtle -- -mm-hmm.

...And there's a process for bringing him up.

You knock with your boot on the ground three times,

And then, for some reason, these turtles love biscuits.

A single pebble into the water just like that.

You make a wish?

I always make a wish when I'm dropping pebbles

Looking for giant turtles.

Did you do the boot?

So that sound resonates down through this pipe,

And then the turtles know that, okay,

There's somebody here, probably with biscuits.

-Fish like it. -Come on.

You guys are gonna think I'm crazy.

-Here is a turtle. -Oh.

Here it comes.

Right here, right here, right here.

-Here is one now. -Here he comes.

-Look at that. -Came right at the pole.

Coyote: Okay, that is not raphael.

That is another alligator snapping turtle.

Viviana: But a very big one.

So there are a number of different

Snapping turtles in this body of water,

And all the bodies of water are connected,

Which gives the turtles the freedom to move

In and out of any one of these lakes that they choose,

But the four turtles that they often see here at the dock

Are named famously after the ninja turtles.

I believe that that one is leonardo,

Still a big alligator snapping turtle, right?

Yeah, yeah.

When raphael comes up,

I'm not sure that he can be caught in a hoop net

Because of how big he is,

And I'm thinking what I might have to do

Is actually jump from that lower platform

And be able to catch the turtle.

Viviana: [ laughs ]

You don't think that's completely crazy?

-We didn't say that. -Give it a shot.

-Yeah. [ laughs ] -well, let's do it.

Coyote: With carl and viviana onboard with the plan,

We return to our cabin and find yet another alligator

Snapping turtle swimming just beneath our lakeside deck.

It's not raphael, but as you can see,

This is no small turtle.

I'm so tempted to drop into the water and get the turtle.

Here comes the turtle.

That is, like, an 80-pound turtle right there.

He's huge, swimming right underneath the dock here.

I took off my hat, my shirt.

I'm half tempted to just jump in the water and catch this turtle.

It's only a few feet deep here.

-Watch out, the gator. -[ speaks indistinctly ]

Right next to us.

I don't see the turtle now.

-Watch out. It's pretty bold. -Okay. That's...

Coyote: That's about as close as

I think I want to get to this alligator.

Wow, look at that, no fear whatsoever.

That's -- I don't want to get any closer.

He could lunge up right out of there.

[ hissing ]

If this alligator wasn't here,

I would drop down into the water and get the turtle.

Whoa!

If this alligator wasn't here,

I would drop down into the water and get the turtle.

And you can see he's very interested in me at the moment.

It's not helping for catching the snapping turtle.

The biological land mines that we're gonna be

Facing in this location are exactly this.

Getting into the water to catch alligator

Snapping turtles will put me right

In the striking range of american alligators.

♪

With turtles moving about,

We decide to employ a catch tactic known as hoop-netting.

This is the safest way to catch alligator snapping turtles,

And this trap is designed exactly as it sounds,

A simple series of hoops woven into a cover of netting.

These traps are considered safe because when a turtle is caught,

It can easily access the surface to breathe.

Remember, the well-being of the turtle

Is our first priority.

When it comes to raphael, he may be too big for the nets,

But it's worth a shot,

So with a series of them in place,

All we have to do is wait.

♪

I arrive at the deck the next morning.

Sunlight spilling across the water,

I peer down into the abyss,

Hoping to see the shadow of a giant,

And much to my dismay,

The only parties interested in my biscuits are the bluegill.

♪

With no signs of the legend at the deck,

Mario and I check the nets we set in surrounding lakes,

And it quickly becomes clear

That these waters are teeming with predators.

♪

Okay, so it's right back in this corner.

-See the net? -Yeah.

Okay, so bring us right up on the left side of the trap.

Okay.

♪

The net's all mangled.

I'm gonna pull the net up right --

Here we go. Coming up, coming up.

-Oh! -There it goes.

There's an alligator in the trap.

What do you think, about 5 1/2, 6 feet, right?

Yeah, it's about a 4 1/2, 5-footer.

-Okay. -I'm gonna let it back down.

Okay.

Oh, he wants to get out.

I think if I get out, just anchor the boat like this --

Okay.

...I'm gonna untie the net, see if I can swing it around

And just get him to swim out the back side of it.

That's... [ speaks indistinctly ]

♪

So the net is free.

What I'm gonna do is get to that spot,

Turn the net around

And see if the alligator will go straight out of it.

Okay.

♪

Is he out? There he goes.

Just like that, he darted right out the front.

Well, we got the alligator part down.

Right.

Now we just need the snapping-turtle part

To go with it.

♪

So while the nets are out,

They're hopefully catching some huge turtles

And maybe even raphael.

I want to explore this environment at night

To determine what sort of prey items are out moving about.

If we can see how healthy the ecosystem is

Based on the prey,

It will help us determine why these turtles

Are growing to such epic proportions.

♪

♪

I heard some movement over here in the water.

Holy mackerel, big frog right there.

Oh, there he goes.

Trying to see if I can see him.

I think he's right down under this clump.

-All right, I'm going for it. -Yep.

♪

-All right. -You got it.

-Got it. -I got him.

He is enormous.

Look at the size of that.

They say that everything is bigger in texas,

And this bullfrog definitely proves that.

Frogs are typically looked at as prey items.

Believe it or not, a bullfrog of this size

Is actually capable of eating baby alligator snapping turtles.

Keep in mind when these turtles come out of the egg,

They're only about the size of a 50-cent piece,

So a small turtle like that would actually make

A very scrumptious meal for a frog of this magnitude.

I'm gonna spin it around

So you can see the back of its body, beautiful coloration,

Perfectly camouflaged into the environment,

And all of the muscle in this frog exists

Right there in those hind limbs, pure muscle, pure power.

That is one of the biggest bullfrogs I have ever seen.

Well, if there's one thing that I can say,

It's that this ecosystem is incredibly healthy,

And if the frogs are getting this big,

Just imagine how big the alligator

Snapping turtles are getting.

All right, let's let this guy back off

Into the wild so we can keep hunting.

♪

He even said goodbye. How cool is that?

♪

This isn't right. I don't know what this is.

This could be anything, catfish.

It could be an alien. Here, I'm gonna catch it.

♪

-I got it. -Got it?

-I got it! -Nice!

Look at this! Look at this! Crazy!

This isn't right. I don't know what this is.

♪

-Got it? -I got it!

Look at this! Look at this! Crazy!

This is an amphiuma, incredibly hard to hold onto.

Oh, oh, I'm gonna lose it. Hold on.

There, let it -- just let it slither around.

They can stay out of water.

They can breathe air, absolutely impossible to hold onto.

Look at that.

It'll be better if I keep it in the net and just like this.

See if you can get a good look at it.

This is something that I did not expect to come across.

These are incredibly rare,

And you very seldom see these creatures

Because they're so cryptic,

And they stay buried down in the mud during the day

And only come out at night to hunt.

Let me see if I can bring its little nose up for us here.

Now they are capable of giving a rather painful bite,

So I do want to be careful, but this is not a venomous,

Not a poisonous species, and if -- whoa.

As soon as it feels like it's being handled,

It wants to immediately bolt off.

Look at all that slime covering my fingers right now.

You would think this is an eel or a snake,

But it is in fact an amphibian.

It is a salamander species, one of the largest salamanders

That you will find here in the united states.

They do have small, little vestigial legs.

You see those little, tiny legs?

And they have little, tiny eyes up front

That are able to sense light and the lateral line

That runs down the entire length of the body

That helps them feel vibrations

And sense chemicals within the environment.

Finding a bizarre creature like an amphiuma

Means that this environment

Is incredibly healthy, pristine environment.

If something like this can survive here,

And animal that is very susceptible

To any sort of pollutants or chemicals in the environment,

It means that all of the animals that live here

Are thriving beyond belief.

Okay.

Back into the water with this one.

♪

That's incredible.

You have no idea how rare that animal is.

For 37 years of exploring, only the second time

I've ever seen one of those amphibians.

This swamp is like a wellspring of species, so cool.

I'm not sure we can do better than that.

♪

The next day, there are still no signs of raphael,

So once again, we set out to check the nets.

♪

♪

Nothing, totally empty.

Stunk.

Nothing in that net. All right.

Guess there's no turtles in this cove.

Let's head up this direction, the furthest trap.

This one is gonna be the lucky one.

I'm telling you.

♪

There's something in the net. The net is moving.

♪

Yes, alligator snapping turtle, look at that!

Sweet!

Wow, it's a heavy turtle, and look at that.

It actually got into the bait canister and had itself a meal.

Okay, here, let's do this. Let me get the net off of here.

Actually just gonna cut that right off of there.

Okay, I can stand here, which is good.

And, oh, there it is, right next to my leg.

Oh, it's starting to move.

Oh, stay, stay, stay. All right.

I'm just gonna get it up and onto the kayak.

Oh, I want to get us back in a controlled situation

Because if that turtle decides that it's going to

Climb up and out of this kayak,

I'm going into the deep water with it.

This is gonna be a dangerous little balancing act.

Okay, stay turtle. Stay.

Okay, let's move quick. Let's get it to shore.

This is definitely a good turtle to take a look at.

♪

There it is,

The alligator snapping turtle.

When comparing this reptile to the common snapping turtle,

There are quite a few distinct differences,

And the first thing you'll notice is the size of that head.

This alligator snapping turtle's head dwarfs the head

Of the 50-pound common snapping turtle that we saw in ohio,

And one thing that makes them really distinct

Is the spread of those jaws.

Look how wide this turtle can open its mouth,

And the first thing you may notice is

That little wormlike appendage on the basin of the lower jaw.

Can you see that?

These turtles specialize in ambush predation,

Which means they will lay on the basin of a body of water

With their mouth open and wiggle that tiny wormlike appendage,

Obviously specializing in eating fish.

Fish eat worms.

A fish sees that tongue, swims close to those jaws,

And the turtle has a meal.

Pound for pound, it has one of the most powerful bites

In the reptile kingdom.

A turtle of this size could easily take off a finger,

So I have to be as careful as possible.

Look at those front claws, absolutely massive.

Now they use the claws to move

Themselves through the environment,

And while they're primarily ambush predators,

Alligator snapping turtles are known to sometimes be nomadic,

Moving from spot to spot to look for a different food source.

When it comes to food, they're opportunistic.

Fish, frogs, snakes, even small birds like ducks

And egrets can make fair prey for a turtle like this.

But the one thing that makes this turtle very unique

As compared to its smaller cousin,

The common snapping turtle,

Are those ridges that run down the length of the carapace.

This is what gives them

The name alligator snapping turtle

Because it almost looks like the back of an alligator,

And these actually have function.

During big hurricanes, these turtles will wedge

Themselves up underneath logs,

And those ridges will lock them into place,

So huge changes in water level

And flow will not even disturb these turtles.

They'll just hunker down, ride out the storm,

And they continue about hunting

Just like they would on any average day.

When it comes to a world record-size turtle,

This one certainly is not going to break any records.

The largest alligator snapping turtle that we know of weighed

Just around 250 pounds.

That's a turtle that was in captivity.

Roughly about 175 is the record for a wild-caught turtle.

Is this raphael? Absolutely not.

Raphael is considerably bigger than what this turtle is.

All right, let's bring in carl and viviana,

Collect the biometrics,

And then get this turtle back off into the wild.

♪

I've officially named it carl jr.

After you, carl. Why don't you guys walk us

Through exactly what elements you need for your research?

Well, the basic measurements on the turtle

And the weight of the animal. -Of course.

We're also going to microchip this turtle as well.

-That's right. That's right. -Right.

I'll be putting in a pit tag,

Or a passive integrated transponder,

And it has an id number associated with each pit tag.

And whenever we come back or other scientists

Come back to check the population,

You can track growth and health an assessment on them.

Cool. Okay. Let's start collecting the data.

For carl and viviana, collecting biometrics

Is crucial for tracking the health of a turtle.

First, we measure the length and width

Of the turtle's carapace, then width of its head,

And last, it's marked with a subdermal pit tag.

This unique identification is the same exact kind of tag

That is used for dogs and cats

And will accurately allow them to id

This turtle if it is ever encountered again.

-You want to get in the center? -Yep.

-Yeah. -Going up.

Stay.

43.1.

43.1.

Nice. That's good.

That's a very impressive turtle right there.

So that's it. We have all the biometrics.

Let's get this one back off into the lake

And continue searching for the legend himself.

-All right. -Sound good?

All right, come on, carl jr. Back into the lake with you.

♪

Several days have now gone by and still no sign

Of the legendary turtle known as raphael.

The hoop nets haven't caught him,

So it's time we try a new tactic.

I think maybe what we should do now is get a camera underwater

And see just what this structure is like up underneath the dock.

I get a chance for a jump.

I need to know what's down there before I get in the water.

So this futuristic-looking device is an underwater drone,

And this is trent, camera operator and specialist

When it comes to cameras like this.

What we're gonna do with this tool

Is actually get it beneath the surface to see,

First of all, if raphael is down there and, second of all,

Whether or not there are obstacles beneath the surface.

The water is dark, and I can't actually see

More than a couple inches beneath the surface.

If I'm going to jump into the water

After this huge turtle,

I want to know what kind of debris is down there.

So, trent, how deep can this thing actually go?

This thing can go around 100 meters deep,

Which is way deeper than we're actually gonna be here,

But with the lights on the front here,

They'll allow us to see hopefully

What kind of snapping turtles we have down there --

Okay.

...And maybe even other wildlife such as alligators

Or even the softshell turtles, which also live in this area.

Cool.

Well, there's definitely some turtles already swimming around,

So I say we get this thing in the water

And see if we can capture. -Yeah, definitely.

Let's do it.

Okay, we are rolling.

Yeah. Good, good, good.

That is very dizzying.

Feel like we're going down and into the abyss.

♪

I see fish.

That's definitely an alligator.

I'm gonna go down a little bit deeper.

♪

You see the turtle?

Yes, I can see the back of its carapace.

That is the biggest alligator snapping turtle I've ever seen.

It's like the loch ness monster.

This is unreal.

Okay. Drop just a little bit.

There he is! There he is!

That's him. That's raphael.

That's got to be raphael.

Okay, try to drop the camera down a little bit.

I want to try to get an idea of just how big.

Wow. Okay. Now I can see its tail.

Drop down a little deeper, little deeper,

And there's the tail. Look at that.

He's actually using the tail

To wrap around the side of the pole.

I don't know that an alligator snapping turtle

Has ever been seen using this prehensile nature before,

-Not one of this size. -Incredible.

Coyote: As hatchlings, baby snapping turtles

Will use their tail in a prehensile manner,

Meaning they use it to grab

And balance on structures underwater,

But this behavior has never been documented in adults,

And the underwater drone just captured the first

Documented case of an adult alligator snapping turtle

Using its tail in a prehensile manner.

This was a true discovery.

And there's its face.

There's the face right there, the back of the head.

It's putting its face right toward the camera.

Oh, he's biting at the camera!

This is crazy. Look at this behavior.

It's going right at the camera. There we go.

There we go. He's dropping down.

He just dropped back down into the abyss.

Raphael has officially been spotted.

Wow. Okay. Well, that's it.

Let's bring it back in and get ready to catch him.

♪

♪

♪

♪

Go.

♪

♪

♪

♪

Go.

♪

♪

You got him?

I got him! I got him!

What do you need?

-You got him. -I got him!

Holy mackerel, I got him!

♪

♪

Hold on! Hold on! He's pulling me back!

I got him! I got to push right here.

Yep.

We need to get me out of here as fast as possible, though.

All right. Do you want to go this way?

Cannot get my fingers in the mouth of that turtle.

-Hold on. Hold on. -He's fighting me.

I hope please no alligators come behind me.

[ groans ]

[ breathing heavily ]

-There you go. [ laughs ] -whoo!

The turtle is on land!

That is the biggest alligator snapping turtle,

Biggest turtle bar none that I have ever caught.

Challenge number one was catching the turtle.

The second part of the challenge is,

How do you get it into a kayak to get it

In a controlled setting. -Okay.

Coyote: The embankment is far too steep for us

To keep control of the turtle,

And the level of danger we now face

Is not worth the risk for ourselves or raphael.

If one of us is bitten,

The bone-crushing power in his jaws

Could easily remove a hand,

So we carefully hoist the giant turtle

Onto a kayak and strap him in.

Now the challenge will be paddling across the lake

To a controlled setting where we can find out

If he will set a new world record.

Oftentimes putting a blindfold over an animal's eyes

Will help keep it calm,

So we're gonna use my bandana to cover up the turtle's head.

At least somewhere on the water and moving,

He won't try to launch off of here.

-Ready? -Yeah.

Easy, easy.

♪

This is the most crucial point. All right.

I'm gonna go, try to go as quick as I can.

This is the most dangerous part,

Getting the turtle now over to shore.

He's secured inside of the kayak.

♪

♪

You could extend the oar. Extend the oar.

Careful because it gets deep.

-Yep. -You're gonna sink.

♪

We can't wait.

We're gonna lose the turtle if we wait.

You could extend the oar. Extend the oar.

-Careful because it gets deep. -Yep.

You're gonna sink. Pull me in.

Pull me in. Pull me in.

Grab it down in front of it.

♪

Yes! We got it. We landed him.

Holy mackerel, we got it.

-We got it. -Whoo!

Whoo!

The important pieces of biometrics that we need to pull,

We need to get the carapace length,

The width, the head width.

We're obviously gonna get the weight,

And that is the thing that we are most certainly

Interested in, and then we are going

To actually place a microchip into the turtle

So that if it's caught in the future,

We can identify it. -Right.

I will get the measurements if you want to write.

Yep.

So I'm gonna direct you as to what we need first.

-Okay. -All right.

So we're gonna do the max carapace length.

Don't you move.

You're at 68.4.

68.4. Okay.

Let's do the mid-length. Perfect.

That is at 62.6.

62.6.

Width?

That is at 54.4.

All right. Now look at that massive head,

So you got to find the widest point there.

Stay very calm.

-That's it, big boy. -Yep.

That is at 21.4.

-Wow. -Wow.

Look at the size of those front claws.

All right, so next step is, we're going to microchip it.

Okay, this is gonna be a risky little maneuver,

So I'm gonna have to tilt the turtle up to its side

So that mario can get to the --

-Yeah. -...Softer underbelly.

All right.

We're gonna bring him down off of the kayak.

I'm gonna let him just crawl down very slowly.

There we go. There's too much going on here.

Okay. All right.

Let's get the kayak out of the way.

♪

Let me know when you're ready.

All right, yeah.

All right, so this is kind of like going to the doctor.

You get a little shot.

Just gonna wipe this area nice and clean.

Be quick about it because he's crushing me.

♪

Okay. Cool.

-Okay. -Scan it.

Scan it.

I know, big guy. I know. It's okay.

-Okay? -It's okay. Got it.

And there we go. That's his id number.

All right, I know.

I hate to say, but the hardest part is to come,

And that is, we got to weigh him.

Okay, so to weigh this turtle,

We're actually gonna place it inside of a sling.

We've got a scale that will get us a calculated specific weight,

But hoisting it up, it's going to be tough.

♪

Okay, there we go.

♪

Nope.

All right, you're gonna have to lift him,

And I'll just slide it under.

-Oh, his claw. -Watch it.

-There you go. -Oh, jeez.

Watch your hand. Watch your hand.

Wow, did you hear the power in that chomp?

-[ laughs ] -holy cow.

That was like an alligator bite.

Okay, he is in the sling.

-You grab that side. -Okay.

Oh, he's ripping it. He is ripping it.

-We got to work fast, guys. -Okay.

So the turtle is now in the sling.

All right, so we've got ourselves

A heavy-duty scale right here.

We're gonna put it on, and we're just gonna tear it.

Coyote: The current world record for a wild-caught alligator

Snapping turtle is 175 pounds.

This behemoth feels like it weighs a ton,

But we'll have to weigh it to see if we've broken this record.

All right. And be very careful.

Yep. This is it, the moment everyone has been waiting for,

The weight of this gargantuan alligator snapping turtle.

♪

This is it, the moment everyone has been waiting for,

The weight of this gargantuan alligator snapping turtle.

One, two, three.

-All right. -Hold.

Okay.

Ah.

Holy mackerel, that's a heavy turtle.

123.4,

The largest snapping turtle I have ever caught, come on.

-Wow. -Dude, that is amazing!

Wow! It does not break a world record,

But it breaks a personal record for me,

For you, for anybody that we know.

That is an enormous turtle.

Wow. All right.

Let's get it back out of the sling.

Ah, you did so good, buddy.

You did so good.

Now the data will allow us to keep track

Of the turtles in this area specifically.

Snapping turtles live all throughout the eastern

Half of the united states, and of course the alligator

Snapping turtle is only here down in the south,

But having this data allows us to distinguish the difference

Between this population of alligator snapping turtles

Living in this unique lake-type environment versus alligator

Snapping turtles that are living in flowing water

Like streams and rivers.

A turtle like this is incredibly old,

Maybe as much as 100 years of age.

These turtles of this size are incredibly rare these days.

Poaching and turtle meat being traded on the black market

Is a huge problem for this reptile.

So here is an important fact that you may not know.

Turtles are actually the most endangered group

Of vertebrates on the face of the planet,

And the alligator snapping turtle

Is threatened here in the state of texas.

Without us caring about these reptiles,

There's no hope for their future to continue thriving.

As soon as we get this turtle back off into the wild,

It's unlikely that it will ever interact

With a human the way that it did today.

Well, this certainly was an incredible expedition.

We now know that this environment is a healthy,

Happy ecosystem for the alligator snapping turtle.

I'm coyote peterson.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next adventure.

All right, time to get this turtle back into the lake.

All right, buddy. Here we go.

Turtles have been on the planet for more than 200 million years.

They have survived the extinction of dinosaurs,

And their prehistoric nature has not evolved

Far beyond their original design.

The alligator snapping turtle is without question

One of our planet's most mysterious animals,

And their elusive behaviors have kept them well hidden,

Yet humans have had an impact,

And the species is now under threat of disappearing.

Conservationists like carl and viviana

Love these bizarre beasts, and while a snapping turtle

May not be the most adorable of the shelled reptiles,

Each and every turtle deserves protection.

The first time I saw a common snapping turtle

With its golden eyes,

Algae-covered shell, and dragonlike tail,

My imagination ran wild,

And my fascination for animals sparked a fire

That has led me on this journey.

I owe everything that I am to these ancient beings,

And it's because of them that I am able

To share my love of animals with you.

We all dream of finding our calling

And hope to recognize the very thing that makes us special,

That sets us apart from the rest.

My dream was born in the muddy swamps

Of a tiny rural town in the middle of nowhere,

And like the snapping turtle,

It has found a way to grow and survive against all odds.

What began with a single reptile has now become my chance

To brave the wild.

♪