USM researchers land 146-lb turtle

A pair of University of Southern Mississippi graduate students have spent four years trapping and studying freshwater turtles. The largest one they’d found was just over 100 pounds … until July 10. While on a research-trap run in the South Delta, they caught 10 of them over 100 pounds in three days – including one they’ve nicknamed Goliath, who weighed in at 146.6-pounds. They had already caught 26 alligator snapping turtles that day, said researchers Luke Pearson and Lucas Haralson. There was a lot of amazement because he was so big, but there was exhaustion - from the other 26 – and having been on a boat for 12 hours. The research, on alligator snapping turtle populations that was significantly impacted decades ago by commercial harvesting of their meat, shows these Delta turtles are heather than most others in the region. They estimated that Goliath was between 50-to-80 years old. Hattiesburg American 07/15/20) https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/2020/07/15/researchers-capture-147-pound-alligator-snapping-turtle-mississippi/5434096002/