Facebook Photo Of Huge Lake Eufaula Snapping Turtle Goes Viral

Tuesday, May 13th 2014, 1:41 pm

By: Richard Clark

A photo of a huge snapping turtle caught in Lake Eufaula has gone viral.

Dave Harrell posted the photo on the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife's Facebook page on Monday and it has since been shared thousands of times.

Harrell, who's from Edmond, says he was fishing for catfish with a rod and reel at Mill Creek on Sunday when he caught the huge turtle. Audey Clark of Norman helped him hoist it into the boat. They snapped photos and then released it.

Todd Craighead with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife says biologists there want to see more photos of it so they can tell if it's a common snapping turtle or the less common alligator snapping turtle. They've tried contacting Harrell and Clark through Facebook but haven't heard back yet.

Craighead says while it's a big turtle, it's not close to being a record. "Nothing uncommon. It's a big turtle, but they're everywhere."

Read more about the alligator snapping turtle.

He says it appears to be at least 50 pounds which would make it a little larger than average. He believes it's an alligator snapping turtle because of the caruncles or warts on the base of its neck.

He says a really big one would weigh 100 pounds or more.