ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— Following a petition and agreement with the Center for Biological Diversity, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today protected the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
These large, prehistoric looking turtles live in their namesake Suwannee River basin in north Florida and south Georgia.
“I’m relieved Suwannee alligator snappers are finally getting the strong federal protection they need to hang on,” said Elise Bennett, Florida and Caribbean director at the Center. “But these magnificent turtles also need equally strong protections for the streams, lakes and swamps where they live to ensure their survival.”
The Service did not propose critical habitat protections for the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle, finding that doing so was “not prudent” because of the threat of illegal collection.
One of the primary threats for the large turtles is habitat destruction and degradation from a multitude of sources, including agriculture and urban expansion, logging and mining. In addition to habitat destruction, the turtles face threats from illegal harvest, fishing bycatch, nest predation by predators like raccoons, climate change and a lack of adequate regulatory mechanisms to protect them.
Harvesting turtles is particularly damaging because turtles have low fertility, low egg and hatchling survival and delayed maturity. This means their survival depends on many adult turtles having many opportunities to mate over a long period of time. Endangered Species Act protection should help stop further illegal harvest.
“There’s no question turtle trapping is a threat, but so too is habitat destruction,” said Bennett. “The Service could have designated long enough stretches of river as critical habitat in a way that wouldn’t have provided location information while also protecting the turtles’ homes.”
The Service also proposed a special rule that prohibits the taking of Suwannee alligator snapping turtles, which includes harassing, harming, killing, and capturing them. The rule exempts forest management techniques that comply with state best management practices to protect water quality and stream and riparian habitat.
“Alligator snappers in the Suwannee have waited for these well-deserved protections for too long, setting them back in the race to recovery,” said Bennett. “Failing to protect the places they need to survive and recover only puts them at more of a disadvantage.”
Built like a tank and often covered in camouflaging algae, these prehistoric-looking freshwater turtles are known for their spiked shell, large claws and strong, beaked jaws. Alligator snappers spend much of their time underwater, attracting prey with worm-like lures on their tongues and occasionally surfacing to breathe.
Historically, the alligator snapping turtle was considered a single species but a 2015 study supported splitting off the Suwannee alligator snapping turtle as a new species. The alligator snapping turtle is still under review for Endangered Species Act protections.
