Cooter

beamernc

beamernc

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Anyone near Concord want a cooter, common snapping turtle for city folks? This guy nearly caused a wreck crossing the road in front of my house earlier today. His shell is about 14" long and maybe 15-20 lbs. If no one is interested, I'll turn him loose tomorrow.


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That's nice of you. Seriously. But if you want to take a dig at folks, you should have your facts straight first 🤣

A "cooter" is a streaked-head.
 
My wife total our GMC avoiding one crossing the road. She also caused an oncoming vehicle to wreck, totaling it and supposedly injuring the driver’s back. 😢
 
thrillhill said:
"Wish you were closer"
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I figured you might commission the CFF Express.
Assuming someone was willing to try to pick that feller up.

I watched a rural homeowner, and a DOT worker try to move a big one off the edge of the pavement. That snapper moved pretty slow, till somebody touched him. It was a great show for us stopped in traffic to give them room, but it looked deadly as heck for any appendage that got within range.
 
Can’t think of a reason someone would want one, but I’m open to enlightenment.
Came across a huge one in Vermont one time. Stopped and helped him across the road, hope he stayed there. Not sure how big they can get, but this one must’ve been 2 ft.
 
NC FNS said:
Can’t think of a reason someone would want one, but I’m open to enlightenment.
Came across a huge one in Vermont one time. Stopped and helped him across the road, hope he stayed there. Not sure how big they can get, but this one must’ve been 2 ft.
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There good eating if done right. A little bit of work to get everything prepped. But some damn good eating. I've seen some at Uwharrie in the river below the dam that had to be 80 to 90 pounds huge ass dinosaurs. I've caught and eat some around 40 pound mark out of Yadkin River while catfishing.
 
Jeppo said:
My wife total our GMC avoiding one crossing the road. She also caused an oncoming vehicle to wreck, totaling it and supposedly injuring the driver’s back. 😢
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I appreciate breaking for turtles but that may have been a bit much.
 
NC FNS said:
Can’t think of a reason someone would want one, but I’m open to enlightenment.
Came across a huge one in Vermont one time. Stopped and helped him across the road, hope he stayed there. Not sure how big they can get, but this one must’ve been 2 ft.
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My grandpa used to catch them and would bring them home to eat. I have eaten the one's my grandparents cooked, and it was good, but I have never done it myself. Most of the older folks I used to take them to, have now passed on, the reason I offered it up on here. I don't think they would make very good pets.

Cape Fear said:
That's nice of you. Seriously. But if you want to take a dig at folks, you should have your facts straight first 🤣

A "cooter" is a streaked-head.
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I'm almost 60 and my entire life they have been called cooters around here. Maybe a different variety where you are from. Wasn't trying to "take a dig at" anyone as non locals always snicker when they here you mention cooter, so I explained what it was.
 
Stogies said:
I appreciate breaking for turtles but that may have been a bit much.
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Yeah my rule has always been I will only brake for an animal if I can do so safely. Safely being defined as no potential to cause harm to myself or any other human.

Sorry about your dog, cat, turtle or llama. But if it’s them or a human…..squish, just like grape.

It’s irresponsible to harm yourself or another to prevent harm to an animal. Imo anyway.
 
Pretty sure that one was either on its way to or had just finished laying eggs
 
Chdamn said:
Yeah my rule has always been I will only brake for an animal if I can do so safely. Safely being defined as no potential to cause harm to myself or any other human.

Sorry about your dog, cat, turtle or llama. But if it’s them or a human…..squish, just like grape.

It’s irresponsible to harm yourself or another to prevent harm to an animal. Imo anyway.
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Really good advice and I used to advise all of our employees who drove our vehicles to do exactly what you describe here. In the long run it pays off.
 
I have a friend who is near 70 and he would clean your turtle a couple of years ago for $1 pound. He had a board and lag screw made up to spin him around on. Now, when he got done, the meat was in a bag and the shell had a big hole in it.
 
This morning I got the mud washed off the cooter and I believe the car yesterday had run up on him. He has a scrape on his shell but not cracked.
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I took him to a neighbors pond and turned him loose. While I was backing out, this 4' fellow was in their yard, so I caught him and took him over to the pond and he went straight into the water.
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beamernc said:
This morning I got the mud washed off the cooter and I believe the car yesterday had run up on him. He has a scrape on his shell but not cracked.
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I took him to a neighbors pond and turned him loose. While I was backing out, this 4' fellow was in their yard, so I caught him and took him over to the pond and he went straight into the water.
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These turtles don't exactly reproduce like rabbits, how about keeping them alive instead of eating them?
 
When I lived in Virginia my Pop pop would make a turtle and put it in a old hand dug cellar for a week or two. During this time he would feed them corn meal and fresh water.

This was to clean them out before he proceed them. If I remember there are five differ color meats. Some taste like beef, another chicken. Some where fried and other made in to stew.

I was never allowed to say what was for dinner.

Life in the 60's.
 
Inglis said:
When I lived in Virginia my Pop pop would make a turtle and put it in a old hand dug cellar for a week or two. During this time he would feed them corn meal and fresh water.

This was to clean them out before he proceed them. If I remember there are five differ color meats. Some taste like beef, another chicken. Some where fried and other made in to stew.

I was never allowed to say what was for dinner.

Life in the 60's.
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I have heard there were 7 kinds if meat them. Of course that was just guys talking.

Cooters, what we called Alligator Snapping Turtles, can be mean and capable of removing a finger if you're not careful. My brother in-law used to trap/fish them. We used to have a little 12' Sears Gamefisher with a Mercury 9.8. It would be him, me and his younger brother, who was my age. He would haul them into the boat and without fail they would go straight for his little brother. Fun in a little boat. We started holding onto paddles so we could let the turtle bite them and not us.

Ah, memories of youth...

Then there was fishing down at Alligator Alley in Wateree... And Lugoff... And Santee-Cooper...
 
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Daddy was cleaning one and had already cut the heart out and it was laying on the pump house still beating and then the claws latched on to his arm and cut him good.
 
HandyDave said:
I've seen some at Uwharrie in the river below the dam that had to be 80 to 90 pounds huge ass dinosaurs. I've caught and eat some around 40 pound mark out of Yadkin River while catfishing.
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There is one in a retaining pond behind the only shopping center in Emerald Isle, NC whose shell is the size of an end table and another not far behind. There's a candy machine full of dog food you can throw to them for a quarter, I'm sure that's why they're so big.

When I used to feed the catfish in the lake behind my house I saw a snapping turtle with a head the size of a softball. Couldn't see his shell but he must have been huge.
 
georgel said:
Here's one for you, 200lbs, in TX, where it's a protected species...
This one was accidentally snagged on the foot and was released after.
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We just went to the NC zoo this weekend, they have one there that is about that size. I have never seen one that massive before.
 
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