A man believed to be setting his pet turtle free was hospitalized after the creature reached up and bit him on the lips, holding him in what netizens are describing as a painful, ‘passionate goodbye kiss’. Pictures of the scene were posted to Weibo and spread rapidly, serving as a lesson to pet-lovers of the world to never, ever put your face close to a fucking snapping turtle. And don’t own a snapping turtle.
Following the kiss, the man was hospitalized immediately. The person who shot the picture was a friend of the patient and they released the image as a way to remind people that they should pay attention to their own safety while raising a pet.
Shanghai Daily reports:
The animal appears to be an alligator snapping turtle, a dangerous reptile that is native to North America. One of the turtles was found in 2010 in Weishan Lake in southern Anhui Province, according to a report in the UK newspaper The Telegraph. Authorities said they think the turtle may have been a pet that was released.
The turtles are considered dangerous to China’s ecosystem and people have been warned against releasing them.