(CHICAGO, IL)-A menacing-looking turtle is a sign of positive change in the Windy City.
Behold “Chonkasaurus,” an estimated 60-pound snapping turtle recently spotted sunning himself in the Chicago River.
When he discovered the animal last week, Goose Island botanist Joe Santore was chronicling plant development on the once heavily polluted river.
He then shared a video of the turtle, dubbed “Chonkasaurus,” with local media outlets and the story spread across the country.
The Chicago River was one of America’s most polluted bodies of water.
Factories and industrial facilities would dump their sewage and chemical waste into the river, earning it the nickname “The Toilet Of The Windy City.”
With the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972, efforts began to clean up the river.
Santore says a turtle the size of “Chonk” indicates the river is getting healthier, meaning more species of animals are thriving and creating a food source for that ecosystem.
Snapping turtles can live to be 60 years old.
(Photo courtesy of ABC News.)
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