Foreign turtle menaces Japanese park

It seems that Japanese authorities have successfully removed a menacing foreign creature from Ueno Park:

Alligator snapping turtle found laying eggs in Tokyo park

(Kyodo) _ An alligator snapping turtle was found laying eggs Sunday beside a pond in Tokyo’s Ueno Park, police officials said.

The 50-centimeter-long rapacious turtle, a species native to North America, has been living in Shinobazunoike pond since apparently being abandoned by its owner, experts at Ueno Zoological Gardens said.

The police caught the turtle as a “found item” and entrusted it to the zoo, which is part of the park.

The zoo experts said the turtle could have bitten people and caused serious injuries.

The turtle was the model for the Gamera monster in a Japanese film series.

Police officers found the turtle some 50 cm from the edge of the pond as well as six eggs after receiving a call from a passer-by at around 7 a.m. that a turtle was laying eggs.

Another passer-by found nine more eggs also apparently laid by the turtle nearby at around 10 a.m.