Authorities have reassured everyone not to worry, despite a monstrous creature being spotted and recorded in the Mississippi River.

Imagine standing just a few feet away from this enormous beast in the water. How would you react?

Read on to discover how one woman’s surprising encounter with the creature turned into a sensational story.

Shala Holm, from Buffalo, Minnesota, encountered a gigantic snapping turtle months ago, but it wasn’t until recently that her photo started gaining widespread attention. The turtle’s head, reminiscent of Godzilla, and its enormous claws gripping a net full of fish make it clear that this turtle is a giant among giants.

This past summer, Shala spent time with her family at Niemeyer’s Rugged River Resort near Brainerd. Holm and her daughter initially came across the creature while in a tandem kayak.

“My daughter suddenly said, ‘Mom, be quiet. I can hear something breathing,’” Holm recounted.

As Holm turned to look, expecting to see something mundane, she was astounded to see the turtle’s nose pointing toward a fish basket hanging from their kayak.

“He kind of clawed onto it,” she said. “He was so big, and we were so startled.”

Holm shook the basket to scare the turtle away, and it swam off.

The mother and daughter returned the following day to see if they could find it again and capture its image. As they waited for the turtle to appear, they passed the time by catching fish.

“The beauty of being in a kayak is that you’re really close to the water,” Holm said. “So we were really quite close.”

Although unsure of its exact size, the mother and daughter believed it was a snapping turtle, with legs about the size of Holm’s wrists.

The state Department of Natural Resources says adult snapping turtles typically measure 8 to 14 inches long and weigh between 10 and 35 pounds. The largest ever found in Minnesota weighed an astounding 65 pounds!

Shala emailed the image to the DNR, which estimated the turtle’s age to be between 15 and 30 years old.

After the photo was shared on the resort’s Facebook page by owners Corby and Sheila Niemeyer, it quickly went viral. The post received thousands of shares and nearly a thousand comments. Even media organizations reached out to Sheila.

“Most of them ask, ‘Is this really real?’” she said. “It really is.”

The resort, located in a quiet, slow section of the Mississippi north of Brainerd, often sees various local wildlife.

“Every June, we see a lot of turtles coming up on shore to lay their eggs,” she said. “Watching the turtles is one of the things we love. So seeing a big one like that was pretty crazy.”

Although some Facebook users advised avoiding the water, Sheila clarified that it’s not as dangerous as it seems.

“If you really look at any lake or river, you’ll find all kinds of things you never thought of,” she said. “They leave you alone. They don’t want to be near you.”

She even hopes the post’s popularity will attract more guests to their resort.

“I hope it doesn’t make people think, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ll never go there. I don’t want to swim with that,’” she said. “For the most part, I don’t think you need to worry. But seeing the wildlife is amazing.”

Erica Hoaglund, a regional nongame wildlife specialist with the Minnesota DNR, explained that snapping turtles are often misunderstood because they look “scary” and defend themselves when they feel threatened. She assures that they are not dangerous.

In water, where they feel more secure, they try to appear more terrifying on land. They may protect themselves out of fear but never initiate aggression.

“They really just want to avoid encounters and will hide and flee if given half a chance,” Hoaglund said.

Holm, the woman who first saw the large turtle, felt no fear. She even plans to visit the resort again to reunite with her shelled friend.

“I’m going to go back to that spot next year and see if he or she is still around,” she said.

What do you think? Would you swim in that river? Share your thoughts in the comments!