A giant snapping turtle chillin’ on rusty chains in the Chicago River went viral after Joey Santore posted a hilarious and wholesome video on Twitter. Santore, a self-taught botanist, named the big boy Chonkosaurus and cheered him on:
“You look good. I’m real proud of you. You’ve been eating healthy.”
The video has racked up over 350,000 views and tons of love. Per Block Club Chicago, snapping turtles like Chonkosaurus are native to Illinois and can bite hard, so admire him from afar.
Fans online are calling him a “Chicago icon” and loving that the river’s healthy enough to support this majestic unit of a reptile.