JUN 15, 5:54 PM

65-Pound Alligator Snapping Turtle Named ‘Lord Fairfax’ Found Wandering In Alexandria
Natalie Delgadillo



Lord Fairfax, harbinger of doom, after he was found chilling near a residential pond in Alexandria.

Virginia Department of Game and Island Fisheries / Facebook

When future civilizations scour the historical events of 2020 for signs of a coming collapse, they’ll have quite a list to draw from. On that list will be the day that a 65-pound alligator snapping turtle was discovered lumbering around a residential neighborhood in Alexandria.

Tell me this maw doesn’t look to you like a harbinger of doom:

{snip the Facebook post}

On June 11, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries posted on its Facebook account about the giant turtle, which handlers aptly named Lord Fairfax. DGIF received a call from Fairfax Animal Control about the animal hanging out around a residential pond.

{snip}

Because he is likely captive-bred, Lord Fairfax can never be returned to the wild. A DGIF biologist picked him up near the pond where he was seen surveying his environs, and the turtle was given to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk, where he may become part of a new exhibit, per the department.