A dangerous common snapping turtle was discovered in the Sint-Kruis borough of Bruges (West Flanders) this morning
A walker noticed the animal in a nature area and alerted the SOS Reptile animal shelter in Ichtegem (West Flanders)
Volunteers immediately decided to come and collect the turtle
"A passer-by noticed the animal and immediately saw that it was not your average tortoise," explains Mario Goes of SOS Reptile
"This person also immediately emailed a photo
We could immediately see that it was a dangerous specimen."
Volunteers from the shelter headed to Sint-Kruis straight away to collect the animal
A snapping turtle is a very dangerous animal
"A turtle like that can easily bite off your finger
Even a dog's paw can be badly injured
People often think it's just a turtle
but believe me: this is a dangerous species."
The turtle is now being cared for at the shelter in Ichtegem
"We will first check to see if the turtle is healthy
the animal will be given a permanent place somewhere
Snapping turtles are very dangerous and should not be kept as pets
This is why they are not eligible for our adoption programme."
SOS Reptile currently houses 15 snapping turtles
"But there are more snapping turtles in Flanders than you might think!" Mario says
"They are mainly found at the bottom of ponds
Other turtles stand out more because they are more willing to swim."
but four-time winner Erik Zabel was not among them
The former sprinter had picked Ciolek as a dark horse
and said the younger sprinter “perfectly put into effect everything he had planned.”
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“He was already very strong in Belgium at Het Nieuwsblad and the Three Days of West Flanders
but perhaps only insiders noticed that,” Zabel told Radsport-news.com
Ciolek finished 11th in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and won the second stage of the latter race
“Gerald delivered his masterpiece,” Zabel told radsport-news.com. “He is very
very strong and rode by far the cleverest of all the favourites
And on the Poggio he made a top impression
Those are the ingredients you need to win a race.”
Zabel said that he noticed in the Belgian races that Ciolek “once again had the light touch like he had several years ago
And then he beat him in the closing sprint and so perfectly put into effect everything he had planned.”
Zabel looked back at the weather during his rides in the race
“In 2007 there was similar heavy rain
stopping the race and then the later new start – that has never happened before,” said the 42-year-old
who admitted he was happy to have been in a team car rather than on a bike
Manx cyclist Lizzie Holden will be back in competitive action in Belgium this weekend
She’s included in the Bizkaia-Durango squad for Sunday’s Omloop van de Westhoek one-day race which has a 131.9km route between Eernegem and Ichtegem
A total of 25 of the top women’s teams have entered the event.