NARROWSBURG, NY — This common snapping turtle took a break from Little Lake Erie to make its way across a parking lot, most likely in search of a place to lay its eggs. Common snapping turtles spend most of their lives in water or buried beneath the mud, and will often slip away if they encounter a human in the water. But on land, the snapping turtle has a reputation for being aggressive and combative.

It’s not entirely clear how long they live, but according to Wikipedia, long-term mark-recapture data from Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada, suggest a maximum age over 100 years. They are at the top of the food chain in their typical environments, and eat animals as well as plants, as well as small fish; they even have been known to eat ducklings. Snapping turtles are not listed as endangered in any part of the United States.