Turtle’s got one shell of a story

After viral rescue, weeks of rehab, reptile released back into wild

The alligator snapping turtle stood frozen on the banks of a caramel-brown stream.

It didn’t blink. It didn’t unfurl its tail. It just stood there, inches from the water.

“Come on buddy,” said Brian Mihura, trying to coax the turtle into safe refuge. “It’s downhill from here. It’s easy.”

Lately, things haven’t been easy for the 54-pound turtle.

A 2-inch groove stretched across its bony skull, most likely the remnant of a fight with another male alligator snapping turtle.

In early December, it got wedged inside a drainage pipe in north Houston.

Video footage of the unusual rescue went viral.

“The story went everywhere, even the UK,” said Anni Ranck of the Wildlife Center of Texas.

“The funny thing was it didn’t exactly generate a lot of donations for its care. I guess most people don’t find them very cute and cuddly.”

Since getting sprung from the pipe, things have definitely been looking up. Over the past month, the alligator snapping turtle has been getting plenty of rest and top-notch veterinary care at the Wildlife Center.

On Wednesday, the turtle — along with another alligator snapping turtle — were safely released into a Houston-area bayou, a place where scientists know there is an established population of alligator snapping turtles.

“It’s kind of like a bar scene for turtles,” said Jordan Gray with the Turtle Survival Alliance. “You have quite a few females here, and they’ll probably leave when the males show up, but they’re going to follow them. That’s how I would explain turtledom.”

Gray and others involved in the release asked reporters not to identify the specific location.

That’s because alligator snapping turtles are a threatened species in Texas. Their numbers are dwindling because of habitat loss, exotic pet trade and overharvesting.

Gray and others with the Turtle Survival Alliance plan to monitor the two turtles released Wednesday. Both had their shells notched and were fitted with microchips.

Members of the group are trying to get a better handle on the population of turtles that live in the Houston area to better understand how to protect them.

What they do know is that one of the greatest threats the turtles face is from leftover monofilament fishing line, which can wrap around and cause them to drown.

When asked whether he thought the big alligator snapping turtle might end up in another drainage pipe, Gray said he didn’t think so.

The turtles, he explained, are pretty sedentary and unlikely to roam. Likewise, the release site was carefully selected because there are no drainage pipes close by.