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wyowill
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http://www.monstermuleys.info/photos/user_photos/2221alligatorsnappingturtle
GREEN RIVER?What is an alligator snapping turtle, native to the southeastern region of the United States, doing in Wyoming? That is exactly what the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would like to know.
This past weekend a Rock Springs angler was fishing at Meadow Lake and snagged what appeared to be a turtle using a lure. After contacting Game and Fish officials, the angler brought the turtle to the Green River office of the Game and Fish so it could be identified. The turtle was identified as an alligator snapping turtle. Certainly, not a Wyoming native species. As a matter of fact, there are no native turtle species in Wyoming west of the Continental Divide.
?This is just another example of people bringing another nonnative species into Wyoming to keep as their pet and then letting the animal loose when they don't want it anymore,? said Mark Zornes Green River wildlife management coordinator. ?We have a bunch of folks bringing non-natives in. With each population boom we seem to see a new species, or two. This latest species is threatened in much of its native range in the southeast and moving this turtle impacts both Wyoming and the state it was removed from.?
GREEN RIVER?What is an alligator snapping turtle, native to the southeastern region of the United States, doing in Wyoming? That is exactly what the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would like to know.
This past weekend a Rock Springs angler was fishing at Meadow Lake and snagged what appeared to be a turtle using a lure. After contacting Game and Fish officials, the angler brought the turtle to the Green River office of the Game and Fish so it could be identified. The turtle was identified as an alligator snapping turtle. Certainly, not a Wyoming native species. As a matter of fact, there are no native turtle species in Wyoming west of the Continental Divide.
?This is just another example of people bringing another nonnative species into Wyoming to keep as their pet and then letting the animal loose when they don't want it anymore,? said Mark Zornes Green River wildlife management coordinator. ?We have a bunch of folks bringing non-natives in. With each population boom we seem to see a new species, or two. This latest species is threatened in much of its native range in the southeast and moving this turtle impacts both Wyoming and the state it was removed from.?
