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John Daley ReportingHe's not from Utah originally, and if you don't watch out, he might bite your finger off. An exotic animal hospital is trying to figure out what to do with an uninvited guest.
No one is sure where he came from, probably back east, but he was found where he didn't belong in Utah, somewhere along the Jordan River by a couple of kids.
They called the Department of Wildlife Resources. Conservation officers put the reptile in the back of a pickup truck. Then it got out, somewhere along I-215.
Dr. Martin Orr, Veteranarian, Bird+Exotic All Pet Hospital: "You know, these guys are strong. And it got out over the bed of the truck and it wiped out onto the freeway. And the woman, we understand she's a pregnant lady, was driving behind the division of wildlife truck and this turtle was rolling in the road, being all run over. She picked it up and put it on her front seat and took it to Cottonwood Animal Hospital to the ER."
The turtle is an estimated 30 to 40 pounds. He doesn't have a name yet, but he's strong and has sharp claws. Snapping turtles are predators, carnivores who eat fish, birds, whatever is available.
DWR says more and more non-native species are showing up in Utah, from New Zealand mud snails, to bullfrogs, to exotic snakes. Many are dangerous and destructive to native animals.
Carmen Bailey, Wildlife Biologist, Dept. of Wildlife Resources: "This is a problem that's just, getting bigger and bigger, we're having to devote more time to every year."
Many wind up in Utah after being bought on the Internet, where you can find everything from cobras to rattlesnakes. Unfortunately, things don't usually end well for non-native animals; if caught, they're often put to sleep.
Dr. Orr is trying to find someone east of the Mississippi, where the turtles are native, who will take him so it can be transported to a more suitable environment.
