Turtle Talk: Chicago police walk the talk with a big wayward snapping turtle

It wasn’t a snap, but Chicago Police officers rescued a wandering snapping turtle Sunday evening.

An officer from the 009 District on patrol came across the snapper on a sidewalk near Archer and Stewart. Whether it was wild snapper lost or a bought one released is unknown.

“With the collective courage of six seasoned Chicago cops and much debate over who correctly recalls how Steve Irwin captured turtles, we were able to wrangle the cranky old girl (?) into a dog cage without losing any fingers,” the officer recounted.

The snapper was then released into the Chicago River system.

“She went straight for the water and turned around to look at us once she was submerged, very cool experience,” he added. “[I’ve] seen a lot of strange things, but this was definitely a first for all of us! We can’t all be bad if we’re saving turtles off street, right?”