Snapping turtles are awesome

I've always loved this guys ever since my grandfather moved one out of his yard using a shovel. It was so big and scary looking, they lived near a old textile mill that had a pond across the street and the shelled behemoth had crossed the street and walked into his yard. I've heard a lot of exaggerated sounding factoids about these guys but apparently most of the facts have turned out to be true. For one, snapping turtles will eat absolutely anything that comes in front of their jaws, including ducks and other birds.

I don't know how I feel about having one for a pet, I feel like these monsters belong in ponds where they can be real water monsters, that's part of why I like them. They are animals, yes, but their behaviors and looks remind me of a monster living in a swamp. They are awesome.

Any other fans of snapping turtles?

I don't know that I would say that I am fond of snapping turtles, and I certainly do NOT want one for a pet; but I do agree that they look like some sort of prehistoric reptile, with their jagged back , and grumpy attitude.
I had only seen the little painted turtles before, and pretty much they are friendly, and you would have to really upset them before they snap at you.
Not so, the snapping turtle ! When I moved to Missouri, I had a small pond with catfish and bluegills in it, and i used to enjoy fishing there. One day I caught a snapping turtle. That fellow was really having a bad attitude day, and being caught on my fish hook just made him even madder.
He stopped crawling when he looked at me, stood up straight on his legs, let out a huge hiss, and marched right at me with his mouth wide open !
There was no taking the hook out of his mouth, so I just had to cut the line as close as I could without getting snapped, and let him go in the creek down the road.
I encountered several of these strange turtles while I lived in Missouri, and all of them seemed to have the same defensive attitude.