Kansas wildlife specialists are gearing up to drop off another batch of alligator snapping turtles in a local river early next month. Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Wildlife Diversity Coordinator, Daren Riedle, says the agency is preparing to drop off another 60 alligator snapping turtles sometime on May 8-9, depending on local weather and water conditions. All the turtles will be 5 years old with about 5 to 6 inch shell length. They will put the turtles in the waters of the Neosho river between St. Paul and Parsons.
He says the alligator snapping turtle is an imperiled species and Kansas is playing an integral part in its recovery by returning it back to the wild. Alligator snapping turtles are not only part of the ecology of Kansas, but part of its natural heritage. Alligator snapping turtles disappeared from Kansas in the early 1990’s. However, that all changed in 2024 when the KDWP dropped off 40 of the turtles in Kansas as part of an effort to bring the species back to its former territories in the state.
