Mississippi man finds huge alligator snapping turtle, sets county record

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Talk about a big boy.

A Mississippi man found a massive alligator snapping turtle while conducting research on the reptiles.

Luke Pearson caught the turtle in Lamar County. The prehistoric-looking reptile weighed in at 62.8 pounds, setting a new county record, per the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. It is the largest captured so far this year.

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“Luke is conducting surveys for alligator snapping turtles in Mississippi with funding by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and MDWFP’s Mississippi Museum of Natural Science,” the museum said in a Facebook post about the catch. The MDWFP is the state's department of wildlife, fisheries and parks.

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Pearson, according to local station WLBT, is a graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi. He released the turtle back into the wild following its capture.

Separately, in Georgia, a family had to call local authorities this week after spotting a huge alligator sunning itself in their front yard.