The Swamp - Otter + Snapping Turtle Exhibits

On the right is home to North American river otters, and on the left holds an alligator snapping turtle, chicken turtles, and a largemouth bass.

how big is the alligator snapping turtle?

If I remember correctly, the snapping turtle may have just been a foot long.

So how much would he weigh?

How well does the otter get along with the snapping turtle? Hopefully it won't be missing a foot someday.

They are kept separate.

The reason of keeping North American river otters indoors in a zoo in Illinois is still beyond me...

Lincoln Park Zoo's North American River Otter exhibit is outdoors, though the main viewing for guests is indoors into the outdoor exhibit. They use a similar facility for American beavers.

The Illinois section of The Swamp is a fairly small part of the larger building but the animals might be more fit in an outdoor exhibit I agree.

@JVM: I saw both exhibits in person two years ago. While having the species in both zoos in Chicago is another thing to wonder about, I still do not understand why a zoo should keep a native species, naturally well adapted to the zoo's climate, indoors (a fact we both seem to agree on). That'd be like Norden's Ark keeping wolverines or Johannesburg Zoo keeping cheetahs indoors all the time...