BIZARRE: PICTURE Of A Turtle That Smokes 10 Sticks Of Cigarette A Day
the outskirts of Changchun lives a nicotine-
addicted alligator snapper turtle who smokes
around 10 cigarettes a day.
The turtle’s keeper says
that whenever it feels the need for a smoke, the
reptile becomes agitated and starts to hiss.
So how does a turtle become addicted to
cigarettes? A local chef, surnamed Tang, who is
helping his boss take care of it, says it all started
about two months ago when he noticed the pet
had lost interest in its daily fish diet. After
inspecting the reptile, he noticed there was a sharp
chicken bone lodged in its soft belly, but when he
tried to pull it out, it snapped at his hand from the
pain, nearly biting off his fingers.
Tang realized the only way he could take out the
bone was to distract the turtle, so he took the lit
cigarette that was resting in his mouth and gave it
to the pet to bite on. Its jaws snapped on the filter
and didn’t let go for hours. His idea proved
effective, as he managed to remove the sharp
chicken bone, but little did the cook know it would
lead to an even bigger problem.
The next day, Tang sat down on a chair near the
snapper turtle and lit a cigarette after a hard day’s
work. As soon as it saw the smoke, the reptile
crawled up on him, and being the responsible
keeper that he is, he lit another one and put it in its
mouth. The two often went on cigarette breaks
together after that, until the turtle became hooked.
Now, whenever it doesn’t receive a cigarette,the
turtle starts to make hissing sounds and follows
Tang around wherever he goes, crawling up on
him until it gets the nicotine it craves.
It was fun in the beginning, Tang told the
Changchun Evening News, but now he feels
responsible for getting the turtle addicted to
smoking, plus he can’t afford to keep sharing
cigarettes with it.
He says he welcomes any advice
to help the turtle kick the habit.
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