The Surprising Animal That New York Snapping Turtles Love

If there's one thing Hudson Valley residents can agree on, it's that snapping turtles are best admired from a distance.

The massive reptiles might be the grumpiest animal in New York State, and even the brave residents courageous enough to try and help them safely cross the road during mating season risk their fingers and toes in the process. So why do they let another animal get so close?

Snapping Turtles in New York State

Snapping turtles are the official reptile of New York State, and can grow as large as 35 pounds. While their bite can absolutely sever a human finger, the turtles aren't considered aggressive and usually save their snapping jaws for defense. Despite that fact, local residents may be surprised to learn that snapping turtles have a "best friend".

Mutualism Between Local Turtles

"Mutualism sure is something to shell-ebrate!", came the recent pun from the Algonquin Provincial Park (below). "One of our Park Biologists recently caught what appears to be a very rare sighting of mutualism between two of our native turtle species".

Park officials went on to explain that snapping turtles have a large amount of exposed skin when compared to other species of turtles, making them a prime target for hungry leeches. That's where the painted turtle comes in.

Why Snapping Turtles Like Painted Turtles

In an act that is mutually beneficial to both the snapping turtle and the much smaller painted turtle, the snapping turtle allows the painted turtle to snack on leeches that have attached to its body, feeding the painted turtle and freeing the snapping turtle from blood-sucking worms.

Read More: Why You're Seeing More Snapping Turtles in the Hudson Valley 

The relationship is somewhat similar to that of the hippopotamus and the oxpecker bird, which is known to clean parasites off of the large mammal's body (below). The only difference may be that the hippo has no chance of chomping the bird in half like the snapping turtle does with the painted turtle.