I think that was the turtle's cell phone

They aren't vicious at all, unless you provoke them. There are about half a dozen living in a pond near my parents' house, they're really docile. Every decade or so one of them will try to migrate to some no-longer-in-existence spot to breed or something, and the route takes it right through the back yard, so my dad will have to shoo it into a box and put it back in the pond a few times over a week or so before it gets the hint. I've been around for it a couple of times and you definitely don't want to be careless but over all it's not a big deal.

This guy was absolutely asking for it, and his top priority should have been getting the thing safely out of the road. It's probably older than his grandparents, to begin with. I really can't respect a person who doesn't respect turtles.

it's small, not very old.

I think they sold a few snapping turtles at this big petstore I liked to go to in Brown Deer Wisconsin (because there's nothing else to do in Brown Deer Wisconsin). I've had a lot of critters over the year, gerbils, guinea pigs, cats and dogs and turtles, and at one point or another they've snapped at me, meaning a little bite, scratch, etc. I couldn't fathom keeping a guy like this in any sort of captivity, even if we were best bros most of the time.

Yeah, I wouldn't want to have one of them as a roommate, but it was fun having them for neighbors in high school.

Solro, this is as any that I've seen in the wild, and Google tells me that and 8-12" carapace is typical of an adult common snapping turtle, although Wikipedia puts the range at 9.5" to 18" (which sounds right, that one looks like maybe 12-14" at most and under 10" seems really small compared to what I'm used to). Anyhow, the point is this guy could easily be 60 or older.

Actually watching the video again I think you're right, it looks a little small, could be a 10 or 11 incher.

Alligator snappers are the big ones, though, but they look a lot different.

This is the way all stories about bothering wildlife should end.

It's actually good to catch them if you see them doing that, what's usually happening is they're trying to migrate to a spot that most likely doesn't exist anymore because of human development (that's why they cross roads and climb fences and stuff - they're following a route they know from before that stuff was built) and it often ends in them dying from exposure or being hit by a car. It's an ongoing wildlife management problem.

But keeping your friend from taking it home was obviously a good move.

I have no idea what happened, they can't jump at all. It can probably stretch its head out a foot or more, and pretty fast, but that's it. The rule of thumb I have for handling them is that anywhere forward of its rear legs is a spot it can reach, but so far in my life I've never had to actually test that, the most I've done is nudge them with a shovel.

One that size could lunge about a foot or so forward, but OZ is right about the stretchy neck being more dangerous.

I didn't realize they could lunge even that far, the most I've seen them do is kind of stand up to look bigger and shuffle forward a few steps to look threatening. That's plenty for me.