Human finger found in alligator snapping turtle's body

Human finger found in alligator snapping turtle’s body

Published on: June 16, 2018

The finger was found by an unnamed man in St. Tammany Parish
He had found the turtle trapped in a trotline in a local river and brought it home
As he cut it open to prepare to eat it, he found the finger inside
Police are now appealing for information about who the finger belongs to
They are searched the river where the turtle was found but found nothing else

By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com

Published: 16:11 BST, 16 June 2018 | Updated: 17:50 BST, 16 June 2018

A Louisiana man has found a human finger inside the stomach of an alligator snapping turtle which he cut open in preparation to eat it.

The unnamed man called police in St. Tammany Parish after making the grim discovery.

Its investigators are now appealing for information about who the finger belonged to.

They searched the area of the local river where the man found the turtle but found nothing else.

A finger was found inside the stomach of an alligator snapping turtle in Bush, Louisiana, last week (file image)

A finger was found inside the stomach of an alligator snapping turtle in Bush, Louisiana, last week (file image)

According to the man, the turtle was trapped on a trotline in the river.

Police have tried to use the finger to find a fingerprint but were unsuccessful.

‘Local hospitals in St. Tammany Parish and Washington Parish were also contacted, but those inquires yielded no results,’ the sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post.

They are now asking for members of the public to get in touch with any information.

Alligator snapping turtles are the largest freshwater turtle in North America. They often live to 100 years old and weigh up to 175lbs.

They hunt by sticking out their brightly colored tongues and lying completely still to attract fish and frogs in the water, then snap once their prey is close enough.

The turtles are only found in the South and were historically favored for their meat but few people eat them.

They are not protected from trapping in Louisiana and are not close to becoming extinct.