Current Pokémon, Future Kaiju

This evening, my friend Allie, who is one of our seasonal contract workers, found an awesome surprise on the paving stones outside our visitors' center:

That, dear readers, is a hatchling common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina). The characteristic "Godzilla" tail is a dead giveaway. Given a couple of decades and a lot of luck dodging predators (in the immediate vicinity, I can think of raccons, great blue herons, bullfrogs, and larger turtles), this cute little critter could become a monster, with a carapace a foot-and-a-half long and weighing in at over twenty pounds. Sure, it's a cute little handful now, but it could take your finger clean off given time and growth. That being said, these suckers are only aggressive if they are bothered- in the water, they will avoid larger, threatening animals.

Allie dutifully transported this little turtle to the nearby pond and released it so it can have a chance of being the terror of the pond. With a time and luck, maybe one of us will be picking up and photographing one of its offspring.