Fight of the century: dog verses reptile

THERE are many ferocious creatures in the animal kingdom but none as deadly as the yellow-faced turtle — the honey badger of the testudines world. One of the species was found throwing fists around with a dog in Marlow Lagoon.

This yellow-faced turtle was found fighting with a dog in a Marlow Lagoon backyard. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

THERE are many ferocious creatures in the animal kingdom but none as deadly as the yellow-faced turtle — the ho.

On Monday a turtle was brought into Ark Animal Hospital after a Marlow Lagoon resident found the creature fighting their dog.

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Ark Animal Hospital veterinary nurse Geraldine Reid cared for the turtle and said the creature was likely searching for a new home.

“I think its made its way from the lagoon trying to find another body of water and ended up in suburbia,” she said. “We’ve had a pretty bad wet season so a lot of the bodies of water are getting low on food and water levels to they move on to find a new place.”

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Ms Reid said the species weren’t aggressive but were well equipped to hold their own in a scrap.

“It was probably being defensive because the dog approached it,” she said.

“Normally turtles come in with punctures through their shells but he did a good job standing up for himself.”

The fearless turtle will be released back into the wild this week.