Village Builds Giant Rake to Catch Terror Turtle

The exasperated mayor of a Bavarian town terrorised by a snapping turtle has resorted to commissioning the building of a giant rake, in order to flush out the reckless reptile.

The turtle, nicknamed Lotti, struck fear into the town of Irsee after emerging from the Oggenreider lake to sever an eight-year-old's achilles tendon whilst he was swimming. Experts analysed the bite and concluded that it must have come from an Alligator Snapping turtle - the largest freshwater turtle in the world.

After seven weeks of fruitless searching for Lotti using various traditional methods, Mayor Andreas Lieb has now commissioned the village blacksmith Hans Kohlhund to create a giant rake, which will be pulled by a rope along the whole of the 16,000 square metre lake bed.

However, the tool is not meant to kill, Lieb has specified that "the teeth shouldn't be pointed, but blunt so that the creature isn't hurt".

If it works - perhaps they'll adapt the prototype and get it over to Loch Ness, pronto.

[via thelocal.de]

(Image: Rex)