What announced to be a relaxing fishing trip, turned into a pretty terrifying experience for a mother-daughter duo in Minnesota. Shala Holm and her daughter Avery went fishing on the Mississippi River near Brainerd, when they got the scariest encounter!
While they were quietly fishing on their kayak, a massive creature emerged from the depths leaving them both stunned in fear. Fortunately, it turned out to be a harmless snapping turtle. But an enormous and very scary one, though!
“Suddenly my daughter said, ‘mom, be quiet, I hear something breathing,” the 67-year-old mom explained. “It took a while before we saw its nose swimming toward the kayak. As it got closer, we saw how huge it was. It dove under the kayak and latched himself onto the fishing basket with his nails. We were so freaked out about the size.”
The massive pre-historical-looking creature found its way from the depths beneath Shala and Avery’s kayak. It has some huge ‘bear-like’ claws that made the two women thinking they came upon some sort of river monster. But they soon came into senses when realized it is a snapping turtle. After all, all the turtle wanted was an easy meal.
“People asked I was afraid, and I must admit at the time I was, which is kind of silly because I am bigger than he was and hopefully smarter,” Shala said. “I guess because we were so close to him, being in the kayak, and I didn’t know how badly he wanted those fish and if he would try and get into the kayak. Initially [I] didn’t know how I would get him off the basket. I was nervous about grabbing the handle of the basket, I wasn’t sure how badly he wanted the fish and how aggressive he might be.”
Even though they found themselves in the middle of a frightening experience, Shala still managed to gran some snaps with the ‘river monster.’
“My heart was racing but I was able to grab my phone and snap a few pictures,” the woman said. “I was amazed at the size of his outstretched legs; his feet were the size of my fist and then add those nails! We were so afraid he might claw his way on top of the basket.”
(h.t: ladbible)