I'm taking a break from doing the last few updates in my catalog to have some fun and at the same time give my "Nature's Wonders" line a little love. Additions to that line have been fairly scant over the last few years (Cicadas and more bees and lizards), so here's my long awaited return to the turtle model. The Alligator Snapping Turtles is one of the heaviest freshwater turtles in the world and is the largest freshwater species of turtle in North America. It is often associated with the common snapping turtle, but is not closely related to it. It is given its common name because of its immensely powerful jaws and distinct ridges on its shell that are similar in appearance to the rough, ridged skin of an alligator. This turtle must be handled with extreme care and considered potentially dangerous. This species can bite through a broom handle, and in rare cases, have cleanly bitten off human fingers. There are no reports of human deaths caused by this turtle. It is found primarily in the fresh waters of the southeastern United States. It is found from the Florida Panhandle west to East Texas, north to southeastern Kansas, Missouri, southeastern Iowa, western Illinois, southern Indiana, western Kentucky, Louisiana, and western Tennessee. It is an opportunistic feeder that is almost entirely carnivorous. It relies on both live food caught by itself and dead organisms which it scavenges. In general, it will eat almost anything it can catch. Its natural diet consists primarily of fish and fish carcasses, mollusks, carrion, and amphibians, but it is also known to eat snakes, snails, worms and other invertebrates, crayfish, insects, water birds, aquatic plants, other turtles and even small alligators. This turtle is now listed as "Vulnerable". This is because of its collection for the exotic pet trade, the over-harvesting for its meat, and habitat destruction. All of this has led to some states imposing bans on collecting the turtle from the wild. The IUCN lists it as a threatened species, and as of June 14, 2006, it was afforded some international protection by being listed as a CITES III species, which will put limits on exportation from the United States and all international trade in this species. The alligator snapping turtle is now endangered in several states, including Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Missouri, where it is protected by state law. It is designated as "in need of conservation" in Kansas.