Alligator turtles eating my ducks!

[gh1950]

alligator snappers are a protected species

Alligator snappers arent in Jasper

 

[BIKER13]

Alligator snappers arent in Jasper

why not? They range all over the southeast and as far north as Missouri

 

[gh1950]

why not? They range all over the southeast and as far north as Missouri

Missouri is on the Mississippi River Drainage.

Alligator snappers may or may not be in the lower Apalachicola/Chattahoochee basin and Suwanee River, but the true alligator snapper is not found above the fall line in Georgia. In fact those rivers have their own species of Alligator Snapping Turtle.

The issue is confounded because colloquially, a lot of people call any snapping turtle a alligator snapper. Just like every water snake is a "moccasin"

BTW;

But recent population surveys demonstrate the turtles are now likely extirpated in Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, with declines up to 95 percent over much their historic range from overharvest and unchecked habitat degradation

 

[GeauxLSU]

There are no alligator snappers in north Georgia. There are indeed some yuge snappers though!

OP, just shoot them. I dusted quit a few out of my backyard (beaver pond) and did save a mallard from one (snapper had him by the beak, crushed it. Not sure if I did him a favor or not. ) Can't find pics I posted. Been a while.

 

[geezer]

Yep...No alligator snapper around my pond....But I do have some HUGE snappers....Savage FVSR with a 3-9 scope.....Eye shots from across the pond. I have one really large one I would like relocated...He's probably been around longer than me.

 

[gh1950]

Yep...No alligator snapper around my pond....But I do have some HUGE snappers....Savage FVSR with a 3-9 scope.....Eye shots from across the pond. I have one really large one I would like relocated...He's probably been around longer than me.

I don't have a pond, but that's the reason I don't bother the old turkles any more when I'm out and about. The older you get, the more sympathy you have for things that have been around a long time.

 

[BIKER13]

caught and released many a turkle like the one in his left hand north of the fall line.2 at Lanier

 

[GeauxLSU]

View attachment 1159935 caught and released many a turkle like the one in his left hand north of the fall line.2 at Lanier

That picture makes the bumps on the regular snapper look less pronounced than they are.

Here's a good range map. http://srelherp.uga.edu/turtles/mactem.htm