Aggressive behavior of the common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina Linnaeus 1758) towards the endangered Revees’ turtle (Mauremys reevesii Gray 1831) in captivity

With the popularity of turtles as pets, imports of non-native turtles have increased around the world. Unfortunately, due to their large size and long lifespans, turtles are often released into the wild. As a result, the number of non-native turtles occupying into the wild has increased rapidly. Chelydra serpentina, common snapping turtle (CTS), is a popular pet in many countries. The related species, Macrochelys temminckii, have been associated with aggressive behavior on other turtle species, but with regard to the common snapping turtle, no reports of such case on other species had been recorded yet. In this paper, we report the aggressive behavior of a common snapping turtle on native turtles in captivity. On June 2nd, 2016, the CST in Seoul Zoo attacked two Mauremys reevesii. A female Reeves’ turtle has serious damage to the left eye and a large part of the head. Another turtle was bit on its left posterior part and suffered severe damage to its shell. Although we showed an example of an attack that occurred in indoor, our report provides a concrete example of why the introduced non-native species is problematic and must be controlled.