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The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) made a surprising discovery when a turtle was found stuffed into the pants of a male passenger at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). A body scanner triggered an alarm in the area of the man’s groin on Friday, March 7th. This led to a pat down and the turtle being found.
TSA agents asked him if there was something hidden in his pants and the man from East Stroudsburg, PA then reached into his pants and pulled out a live turtle wrapped in a small blue towel. The turtle was identified as a Red-Eared Slider and estimated to measure around five inches in length.
Man was stopped by @TSA at @EWRairport checkpoint when the turtle that was stuffed down the front of his pants triggered an alarm. No need to hide your turtle in a towel down your pants. You can bring animals through checkpoints. https://t.co/IoW22L3huU pic.twitter.com/eR5wc5lMwm
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) March 11, 2025
Why the man was hiding the turtle is unknown as small animals can be brought through security checkpoints. Port Authority Police questioned the man, took possession of the turtle, and contacted the US Fish and Wildlife Service as well as local animal control officials. The passenger missed his flight and police escorted him out of the checkpoint.
Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, said:
I commend our officer who conducted the pat-down in a very professional manner in an effort to resolve the alarm. We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, however I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants. As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”
Anthony’s Take: Red-Eared Sliders are common turtles found throughout the United States. I have to wonder if he was trying to smuggle it out of the country, but even that doesn’t make sense. People do some odd things and this is definitely on that list.
(Featured Image Credit: Transportation Security Administration.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
