Observations of Male Combat in Alligator Snapping Turtles in Florida and Georgia

Kevin M. Enge^1,*, Travis M. Thomas², Greg Brashear³, and Julia Robinson Willmott⁴

¹Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 1105 SW Williston Road, Gainesville, FL 32601. ²University of Florida, Nature Coast Biological Station, PO Box 878, Cedar Key, FL 32625. ³Dallas, GA 30157. ⁴Normandeau Associates, 4581 NW 6th Street A, Gainesville, FL 32609. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist,Volume 22, Special Issue 12 (2023): 388–392

Abstract
Combat has been described in captive but not in wild Macrochelys temminckii (Alligator Snapping Turtle). Combat may be seldom observed in the wild because of the habitats used by these highly aquatic, cryptic turtles. We report 1 observation of fighting in M. temminckii and 3 observations of fighting in M. suwanniensis (Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle) from Florida and Georgia. Combat involved wrestling and biting of heads and front feet, and it was usually accompanied by dramatic bubbling of the water surface from submerged turtles. Observations were made in September, October, and December, outside of the presumed courtship and mating season.

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