He’s Chicago’s biggest celebrity.
A massive snapping turtle sunbaking on a pile of rusty chains in the Chicago River has captured the hearts of locals, who have affectionately dubbed it “Chonkosaurus.”
A video of the giant reptile was posted online by Twitter user Joey Santore, who filmed it as he kayaked along the river. The 50-second clip shows the turtle lying in the sun near Goose Island on the North Branch of the Chicago River.
“Great to see this beast thriving here on what was once such a toxic river, but is slowly getting cleaned up & restored,” Santore captioned the May 6 post.
“Somebody planted a bunch of native plants up the river from here, too,” he continued. “I can only wonder this thing’s been eating.”
Santore noted the turtle looked rather healthy.
“Look at this guy. We got a picture of this most beautiful sight. Look at the size of that thing,” he marveled in the expletive-riddled short clip.
“Look at that beast. Hey, how ya doing, guy? You look good. You’re healthy,” he said as they passed the sunning turtle.
According to Friends of the Chicago River, people should avoid getting close to the local celebrity as the turtles are “ill-tempered and capable of producing a very serious bite.”
“They are primarily nocturnal, but will feed underwater during the day ambushing their prey,” the website noted.
Chonky animals, of course, are a favorite online. In April, an advertisement for a “chonky” 40-pound cat went viral after being posted on Facebook.
“Did you wake up today and say, ‘Let’s adopt the largest cat anyone has ever seen?’ If so, we have the cat for you,” the adoption ad read. “Meet Patches; all 40.3 POUNDS of him! He’s been regulated to a very special diet, is on an exercise plan and is very sweet.”
The heavy-hitting post amassed 2,000 likes and more than 1,200 comments, including many from people who wanted to adopt the super-sized animal.
The chunky feline was adopted by Virginia retiree Kay Ford, who already owns a kitty named Wellesley, and fell in love with Patches after her daughter sent her the ad.
