The U.S. Federal Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed that the alligator sea turtle, a huge spiny-shelled reptile that lives at the bottom of lakes, attracts prey by extending a worm-shaped lure. the agency reported Monday.
These turtles have been declared a protected species in all the states where they live, but the long-term effects of their capture to prepare turtle soup are one of the reasons why their population is so small today, noted the FWS ( agency acronym).
“Alligator turtles are some of the most ferocious and savage creatures in the Southeast, but overharvesting and the destruction of their habitat has put their lives at risk,” Elise Bennett, an attorney for the Center for Biodiversity, said in a press release.
Turtles suffer the effects of “decades and decades of exploitation,” said Bennett, whose organization filed a lawsuit to protect the species.
Alligator turtles can live up to 80 years, and males are known to weigh up to 113 kilograms (249 pounds) with shells up to 74 centimeters (29 inches) in length. Their jaws are strong enough to break bones.
There are an estimated 360,000 individuals in 12 states, but without protection their numbers would likely plummet to 5% of that number or less in 30 to 50 years, the FWS said Monday during a preview online about an announcement in the Federal Register, scheduled for Tuesday.
It used to be possible to find them in Kansas and Indiana, but currently they live in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, the agency said.
“Their habitat has shrunk in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and possibly Oklahoma,” the agency noted.
All of those states are located along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
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