Since the dawn of man, alligator snapping turtles have been the source of myths, legends and sauce picante.
Scientists say turtles have been around for 200 million years, so you’d think a critter that watched the T-Rex come would not be in trouble, but they may be.
“They’re not endangered, but they’re threatened,” Vanessa Ortiz with the Natchitoches Fish Hatchery said. “That’s because regulations stand now where, in Louisiana … each person can take on alligator snapping turtle per day. It’s a pretty high harvest … some of these guys have lived for over a hundred years already!”
Don Dubuc went to Natchitoches to learn more about local preservation efforts.