Looking back on 2023, one of the stories that made the biggest splash was the tale of the turtle: the viral video of the big snapping turtle sunning along the Chicago River — Chonkosaurus.
"Look at this guy. We got a picture of his most beautiful side. Look at the size of that thing. Oh my God!" Joey Santore said in his now viral tweet.
Santore and his buddy Al Scorch were out kayaking on the Chicago River in May when they saw a large snapping turtle, that later earned the nickname Chonkosaurus.
Scorch said they're working with some as-yet unnamed scientific institutions in Chicago to plan something to mark the one year anniversary of the Chonkosaurus sighting.
"Let's say there may be a celebration this coming year to celebrate Chonkosaurus and the river and all the excitement around ecology."
Santore, who describes himself as a "defacto science educator by accident," said despite getting hundreds of thousands of views on social media, the video didn't really change his life.
"I think it showed a lot of Chicagoans that there's cool nature here when you look between the cracks in the sidewalk, you know?" Santore said.
"What really matter to be is that more people start paying attention to these things that I personally love."
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