NEW ORLEANS -- It's a marvelously ugly beast, with spiked and ridged armor, a sharply hooked beak, a fishing lure in its mouth and a nasty bite. But the alligator snapping turtle's hard shell holds ...

Turtles aren’t known for their speed. In fact, it’s usually quite the opposite. (Slow and steady wins the race and all that.) But one type of turtle is actually incredibly quick, at least with its ...

RICE TWP. – Although the snapping turtle that Rick Koval and I caught wasn’t an enormous monster, it was a sign of things to come. The small snapper had a head and feet that seemed far too large for ...

TOPEKA (KSNT) – A species of big turtles, long gone from Kansas, are now back after a 30-year hiatus. Staff with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) released a batch of alligator ...

Some historians have suggested the giant turtle reported in 1948 was an alligator snapping turtle, pictured here. Other experts disagree with this theory. Illustration by Emily Lankiewicz / DeAgostini ...