Man Lets Snapping Turtle Bite Him, Ends Horribly

Nature is vicious. There are lots of things you shouldn't do in nature because it will retaliate. [...]

By Stephen Andrew

Nature is vicious. There are lots of things you shouldn't do in nature because it will retaliate. Maybe not right at the top of the list, but at least somewhere in the middle is "willingly be bitten by a wild snapping turtle."

And that is what Coyote Peterson is around for. To do the dangerous things the rest of us shouldn't. For example, willingly being bitten by a snapping turtle.

In a new episode of his YouTube nature show, Brave Wilderness, Peterson shows us what happens when a snapping turtle clamps down on your hand, as well as gives some tips on how to get it off.

You probably think Peterson is so much of an expert that he has everything under control, but nature doesn't care how much of an "expert" you are, and things most certainly do not go as planned.

First, Peterson glues a little peg of wood to his hand which is intended to prevent the turtle from taking a chunk out of it.

Then he places his hand right next to the turtle's mouth and it takes the bait.

However... the turtle, being a creature of instinct, clamps down on Peterson's hand completely missing the peg and digging into the meat of Peterson's hand.

It's absolutely cringe-worthy.

So now comes the time for him to show us how to remove a snapping turtle from your person if you're ever bitten by one.

First, he shows us that you can pour water over the turtles head and that is supposed to encourage it to let go. He has crew member pour some water on the turtle but it just bites down harder. So, apparently, that doesn't work.

Next, Peterson says you can submerge the turtle in water and that should get it to break its grip. The problem is, small snapping turtles on average can weigh around 9lbs and that is not the kind of strain you want to put on a wound that is still fresh. It could potentially tear more and you'd likely be in worse shape than you;d be if you just lived the rest of your life with a snapping turtle attached to your hand.

Finally, the last thing Peterson tells us can help is pouring rubbing alcohol, and sure enough, that does the trick. The turtle lets go and Peterson is left with a triangle shaped gash on his hand.

So the lesson here, kids, is that you shouldn't let snapping turtles bite you, but you should always carry rubbing alcohol with you just in case one does.

Seems simple enough.

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[H/T: Thrillist]

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