On Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:16:46 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:

> Sqwertz wrote:
>> Mark Thorson wrote:
>>
>>> ...fearsome turtle with a beak like a parrot
>>
>> Snapping turtle, probably. Very handsome creatures, usually covered in
>> mud. None of the photos on the web show the horn, but the one I tried
>> to pick up last year, before I knew it was snapping turtle, had a horn.
>> It was was just steppign onto a 4-line highway and I thought I'd pick it
>> up and point it back towards the creek. That's when it dawned on me -
>> Oh! It's a *snapping* turtle. Duh.
>
> Still got all your fingers and toes?

I grabbed him at 180 degree angles directly on the sides of the
mid-section of the carapace. I felt his horn (those are nostrils,
BTW) bounce off when he realized he couldn't get a good bite.

Freaked me the **** out, though. Screw it. Let her try and cross
the highway. His carapace already had a 5-6" crack it. Might as
well let somebody else finish him off.

ObFood: Fort the next 2 weeks I had a craving for turtle soup but
couldn't find any meat. And as much as I shop the Asian markets,
I've never seen turtles (or their meat) for sale. Maybe it's an
Eastern US Chinese thing.

-sw