“Chonkosaurus”, the obese Chicago snapping turtle that went viral

Pictures of a fat woman snapping turtle A man who filmed himself relaxing in a Chicago canal has gone viral after marveling at its size and naming it. “Choncosaurus”.

Joey Sandor was kayaking with a friend on the Chicago River last weekend when they spotted a snapping turtle hiding in what appeared to be a large chain of rotting logs.

He posted a video of the turtle on Twitter with the tag: “Chicago River Snapper, also known as Choncosaurus.”

In the video, Sandor can be heard marveling at the size of the turtle, which shows folds of flesh extending beyond its shell.

“Look at this, man. We’ve got a photo of this beautiful scene. Look at the size of that thing,” he says, using a swear word. “Look at that beast. Hey, how you doing, boy? You look good. You’re fine”.

Chris Anger, chief wildlife biologist for the Cook County Forest Preserves, said the snapping turtle Sandor photographed was extremely rare given its apparent size. He said it was unusual for reptiles to wade through rivers, but they may have emerged from hibernation.

“So I’m guessing this animal crawled out of the river to collect as much heat as possible from the sunlight,” Anger told WMAQ-TV.

Although it’s hard to tell exactly how big the turtle is from the video alone, Anger named it “The Greatest Individual”. And he noted that snapping turtles are not picky eaters.

“Turtles of this size will eat anything they can move with their mouths,” he said, adding that anyone who sees a turtle should not disturb it or attempt to capture it.

“Enjoy it. Leave him alone,” Anchor said.

(With information from AP)

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