Lord Fairfax is a 65 lbs turtle found near a residential water source in Fairfax County, Virginia.

He is an alligator snapping turtle, a species not native to the region where he was found, and is the largest of his kind ever found in an urban environment.[1] At maturity, Lord Fairfax is expected to exceed 200 lbs.[2]

According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries,  Lord Fairfax was bred in captivity by citizens who did not realize how big he would get. Once they were no longer able to care for the giant animal, he was released to the wild.[3]

His upbringing as a pet meant that he would not survive without proper care.[4] The animal was relocated safely to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk.[5] [6]

References

  1. ↑ Larthridge, Resell (17 June 2020). "This is Lord Fairfax, a huge turtle found lumbering through a Virginia neighborhood". CNN. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  2. ↑ "Police Apprehend 65-Pound Turtle In Virginia". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  3. ↑ "Meet Lord Fairfax, a 65-Pound Alligator Snapping Turtle That Turned up in a Virginia Neighborhood". Southern Living. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  4. ↑ Lord Fairfax. "Giant turtle named Lord Fairfax finds home in Virginia Zoo". YouTube.
  5. ↑ Wanshel, Elyse (2020-06-16). "Lord Fairfax, 65-Pound Alligator Snapping Turtle, Found Reigning Over Suburbia". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  6. ↑ Post, Dana Hedgpeth The Washington. "Pets gone wild: One Virginia neighborhood faced a giant issue, likely someone's former pet". Greensboro News and Record. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
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