A legend of folklore is born anytime the imagination takes liberty upon itself to make one believe that what the eyes have seen is greater then what science would likely prove. The famous tale of Moby Dick and Captain Ahab's quest to find the White Whale is one of history's greatest examples of such a legend. The search for a World Record Snapping Turtle is my White Whale Tale and last night one of the chapters in this saga came to an epic sunset conclusion.
One of the locations that my team and I research (which must remain secret for the safety of the animals) has been haunting my dreams for 4 years now ever since a Snapping Turtle nearly pulled me to my fate in sink mud. Holding tightly to the back of the beasts carapace (top of shell) we fought until I was pulled so deeply into the mud that I had two choices, risk meeting my doom drowning in a mess of black ooze, or releasing the biggest turtle I had ever laid hands on.
As I let go and he slipped from my clutches into the abyss I vowed to capture him again, wondering...could he be a World Record...was he really that big, or did my imagination in the face of death turn him into a monster one could only conjure in their darkest nightmares?
That night Swamp Monsters was born and capturing the turtle that almost killed me became not only a passion, but an obsession that has ever since taken me and my camera team into the wetlands.
For 4 years this monster, a prehistoric looking beast with its scaled leathery tail, massive claws and razor sharp beak has eluded capture. In fact in the past 4 years this enormous Snapping Turtle has only been spotted 3 times! All that is ever seen is his massive black head breaching the surface, often times in deep water and then like a phantom he disappears.
It is these sightings that have kept me coming back to this location week after week. Many times as I navigate the waters my imagination runs wild with the thought of how big this Mud Dragon really is and the ever haunting question...will this ghost of the mud ever be captured?
Well last night, on a solo mission, it finally happened.
Diving from my kayak and into waist deep water on the shallow end of the lake I grabbed hold of his carapace and knew immediately that this was the phantom! He was ENORMOUS! The battle, unfortunately none of which was captured on camera, is now an epic memory of body swallowing mud, dinosaur like claws puncturing and ripping the skin of my hands, a massive gnarled head thrashing about in an attempt to bite me with its bone crushing jaws and a fight through murky water to drag the monster to shore. It was a memory that will live with me the rest of my life and a tale I will proudly tell at dinner tables, in media interviews and at the bedside of my daughter until it becomes a folklore tale of her own. My White Whale, my Big Fish... my Oscar.
Named Oscar, indicative of his grouchy attitude, he has a carapace that measures 18 inches in length and 19.5 inches in width.
Unfortunately I was unable to get an accurate weight as my spring based scale rusted, unbeknownst to me since my last turtle weighing, but it is estimated that he was in the vicinity of 55 lbs.
To date this is the largest Common Snapping Turtle I have ever captured.
A true definition to the word Mud Dragon and a Swamp Monster worthy of the lore he has inspired for the past 4 years. While Oscar is not a World Record (current record = carapace length 22 inches, weight 73 lbs)he joins the ranks as one of the largest Common Snapping Turtles on record in the US, along with his brother Cornelius who also resides in this body of water, and is now the pinnacle in my quest to capture a new World Record!
Will I capture a turtle bigger then Oscar? Only time will tell as my obsession to find a "White Whale" adventures on...leaving in its muddy, algae strewn wake a folklore tale that is becoming worthy of every bit my imagination dreams it to be.
