Rocky Mountain College students Andrhea Massey, left, and Gabriel Aponte hold snapping turtles caught in Arapooish Pond near Hardin, Montana as part of a study. As a warning, the turtles hiss.

Although soft-shelled turtles will gather to breed and hibernate, snapping turtles are more solitary. Both species have high juvenile mortality. They also both smell like a putrid combination of old ...