This Is A Turtle, Not A Slice Of Melted American Cheese

Andrew T. White/Getty Images
By  Dennis Lee

I know. Weird headline, but best headline, given the story.

Weather.com has the skinny. Residents of Burdwan, a village in West Bengal, India, found an unusually colored flapshell turtle that highly resembles a slice of delicious, shiny, melted American cheese. Please feast your eyes on this natural marvel:

I mean, just look at that thing. It's a little creature you might find in the river while playing Animal Crossing or something. Those little round eyes, and cartoonish cheese-like color, look at it! I want it to be my Patronus, like in Harry Potter. I could summon it during moments of extreme duress (maybe in a long line at the grocery store) and it will shield me with its awe inspiring... color?

That strange color is attributed to the lack of a pigment called tyrosine. Tyrosine is present in high quantities in animals like crocodiles and has an effect on their color. Apparently without it, nature gives us cheese turtles.

This is actually the second yellow turtle that was discovered. The other one was in Balasore, Odisha, earlier this year, if you can believe it. This one was a baby!

I Googled "Animals that look like food" and found a lot of wonderful gems, like this post from Good Housekeeping. I mean, there are chihuahuas that look like blueberry muffins, parrots that may or may not be a serving of guacamole, and my personal favorite, kittens who might actually be ice cream.

Step aside, bright blue lobsters. Cheese Turtle is here to steal our attention for at least a few minutes on a Monday morning.

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