snapping turtle, she added, “These turtles have a natural defence mechanism: when you go near them, they open their mouth.”

Chamberlain then went on a rescue mission to safely fish out the turtle, likely abandoned by an owner no longer wanting to care for the fierce creature whose powerful jaws can easily snap through bone

The dinosaur-like turtles, typically found in swamps and rivers across the southern U.S. and in Central and South America, can grow up to 200 lbs and live more than 100 years.

“These species are invasive, they’re non-native and I knew it was going to upset the ecology of the tarn, which is very finely balanced,” she said of the turtle, who has no natural predators and would clean the tarn of its wildlife. “That type of creature, while it’s not going to breed, could do some real damage to the fish stocks