Joey Santore and his friend Al Scorch were out kayaking on the Chicago River when they came across a sight more fit for “Jurassic Park” than a big city – a giant snapping turtle Santore named “chonkosaurus.”
You may have seen his viral video online, it has hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter. Santore also posted an update last week that already has nearly 100,000 views.
Audacy’s WBBM Newsradio in Chicago covered the story – you can learn all about the chonkosourus here, here and here.
Santore told “Something Offbeat” host Mike Rogers he thinks the turtle sighting is a sign that nature is healing, at least in the Windy City.
“I was happy to see it because that means the river is cleaner than it used to be,” said Santore. “You know, there’s beavers on it, too, now. I mean, I’d never imagined there’d be beavers. You know, a mile north of downtown Chicago.”
He’s also no stranger to exotic wildlife. Santore runs the “Crime Pays But Botany Doesn’t” YouTube channel, where he explores wildlife from around the U.S. and beyond, learn more about it from KRLD here. He gave listeners some pointers for making their own connections with nature.
Each week, “Something Offbeat” takes a deeper look at an unusual headline. If you have suggestions for stories the podcast should cover, send them to us at somethingoffbeat@audacy.com.
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