Snapping Turtles are found throughout the United States, extreme southern Canada, and a small section of northern Mexico east of the Rocky Mountains.  In Nebraska they are found statewide, are considered common, and are not specially protected.  With the proper license, they may be hunted for their meat.

Snapping Turtles are predators that often use a “sit and wait” strategy to acquire food.   They remain motionless under water or buried in mud with their heads above the mud surface and strike viciously and quickly at passing prey – which is nearly anything they can catch.  Spring rains will often trigger migratory bursts, and Snapping Turtles can be found on land.  Their name is given to them because of their aggressive behavior on land, but in the water they are much calmer.  Usually they swim or walk slowly away when approached.  Mating can occur throughout the active season.  In ponds with high densities of turtles, males may fight each other for breeding privileges.  Females nest in May and June and can migrate a fair distance from water to lay their eggs.  Nesting activity is normally completed in the morning or evening.  Eggs are round and leathery and look like ping pong balls.  Young turtles hatch between August and October. Snapping Turtles can be found using any body of water from the channelized Missouri River to small intermittent streams and ephemeral ponds.  As water recedes from temporary streams and pools, these turtles migrate across grasslands, roads, and anything else in their way to find another body of water.  They also have been known to climb fences.