Snapping Turtle Saved From Canal After Being Found Tangled In Fishing Line

These images show how a snapping turtle was saved from a canal after it was found tangled in a fishing line during a police training exercise.

The incident took place in Cape Coral canal, which is a 400-mile canal system in Cape Coral, which is a city in south-western Florida, in the United States.

The footage shows a police officer from the Lee County Sheriff's Office, named only as deputy Scozzafava, diving and helping the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) to get free.

He can be seen struggling to remove a fishing line tangled around the turtle, which can reach a shell size of 50 centimetres (20 inches) as adults. An off-camera colleague asks deputy Scozzafava if he needs a knife. The turtle can at this point be seen retracting its head inside its shell. The deputy removes his diving mask as he appears ready to emerge from the water as the footage ends.

The footage of the rescue was shared online by Lee County Sheriff's Office, who said: "TURTLE-Y GREAT

"While conducting training in the Cape Coral canals, one of our dive team members swam across a snapping turtle in distress.

"The turtle was tangled up in fishing line and had a hook stuck in its mouth. Dep. Scozzafava was able to untangle the turtle enough to safely remove it from the water.

"The turtle was taken to Chiquita Animal Hospital, where it will be transferred to CROW to receive the spe-shell treatment it needs." (sic)

The current health status of the turtle, which is part of a species that is usually quite confident and aggressive as they are at the top of the food chain, is unclear, and it is unknown when it will be strong enough to be released back into the wild. When they encounter humans in the water, they tend to avoid confrontation.

Snapping turtles are found as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida. They tend to live in ponds and streams, with many electing to live in estuaries.

Despite being listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN's) Red List of Endangered Species is a species of Least Concern, in Canada, snapping turtles are listed as a species of Special Concern and hunting it is banned.

The destruction of their habitat and pollution, as well as a scarcity in food and other factors are driving snapping turtles to migrate.