A huge snapping turtle recently left his winter hibernation spot to explore new terrain: the streets of Baltimore.

The turtle was found stuck in a gutter near Cherry Hill Park on Monday morning.

Animal control officers responded to the scene and transferred the turtle to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS).

“When we say BARCS is an open-admission animal shelter that takes in all animals, we mean it!” BARCS said in a Facebook post.

The shelter described the turtle as “VERY big. Trash can lid size… ish” on Facebook.

The turtle’s behavior surprised the shelter, as snapping turtles should be hibernating right now, the post says.

Snapping turtles typically prefer to stay in the water or mud, according to the Maryland Biodiversity Project.

And when they are found on land, they can be “famously cantankerous and ill-tempered,” the organization says.

Snapping turtles are “So cute but SO grumpy!” BARCS said on Facebook.

BARCS will send the turtle to the Phoenix Wildlife Center, a rescue organization near Towson, the shelter said.

At the center, the turtle will be rehabilitated and released back into the wild.

This news story does not surprise me, because there has been several posted ads on craigslist I have seen, that were for the sale of snapping turtles, prairie dogs, wolf pups etc. It would be extremely nice and smart if the police would find and investigate these wild animal sales, before anymore wild animals are found in cities where they are not safe to be. It is not fair to animals, they should be protected from people who obviously don’t care about their wellbeing, and just want cash in hand. I do hope they are stopped soon.

How do you rehabilitate a snapping turtle? Tell it to keep its mouth shut?

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