If you think your friendly pet tortoise
is a leaf-munching pacifist,
I’ve got news for you.
Oh man that was brutal.
Steady yourself.
There’s a lot more to this Jurassic reptile
than you thought.
Filmed by scientists at Fregate Island Foundation
in the Seychelles Islands,
this video has shocked scientists worldwide.
A common nesting site for the lesser noddy tern,
baby terns often fall off their nests on this island.
And this one’s agitated flapping and pecking
show that it has sensed danger.
This is a female Aldabra giant tortoise.
Her closed eyes and retracted tongue show caution.
Clumsy but persistent,
this tortoise is most definitely stalking and hunting prey.
And it ends badly for the bird.
About 50 species of tortoises live everywhere
except in Australia and Antarctica.
These land-dwelling cousins of turtles belong to the
Their broad, sturdy legs have individual fingers with long,
sharp claws
instead of flippers.
And that’s an easy way to tell them apart from their
ocean-loving cousins, turtles.
Usually gentle and harmless,
tortoises are known to get aggressive
during mating season.
Males will bite each other and nip on the legs of females
to get their attention.
But this is the first time humans have recorded
aggressive hunting behavior in a tortoise.
Scientists now think that there might be other
instances in the wild.
We just didn’t think of looking for them.
And that isn’t surprising.
Tortoises are largely herbivores,
eating a variety of plants, fruits and mushrooms.
But several species of tortoises
enjoy an occasional meaty snack
of live worms and snails.
If other predators leave an easy source of protein
like mollusk shells, carrion or bones,
tortoises will eat that too.
And Aldabra tortoises will even happily chomp on the
dead remains of other tortoises.
But it’s not like these animals are tearing through calories
by living in the fast lane.
I mean, we're looking at one of the
slowest-moving creatures on the planet.
So what’s driving their craving for protein?
To find the answer, you’ve got to look under the hood.
Tortoises have to grow and maintain
two sets of skeletons.
There’s the usual one inside
but also a hard exoskeletal or carapace on the outside.
A plant-based diet fails to provide
the mineral-rich nutrition
their skeletons require.
And there aren’t a lot of dairy options for tortoises to eat.
Young hatchlings and expectant mothers
need protein-rich diets.
They need the extra minerals
to grow their carapaces and eggs.
So should you consider getting Herbie a muzzle?
Tortoise beaks are powerful,
and they have enough force to shred tough plant materials
and pulverize invertebrate shells.
Alligator snapping turtles, the tortoises' close cousins,
are notorious biters.
An alligator snapping turtle's bite is 1,004 PSI,
nearly as strong as a Bengal tiger's.
Although a giant Galapagos tortoise must have a
powerful bite too,
it likely doesn’t compare.
These reptiles don’t even have teeth.
The only reason they would try to bite you
is if they were feeling threatened.
So you wouldn't face serious damage
as long as you play nice.
Tortoises are among the oldest surviving
species on the planet today.
And with their ability to live without food
for up to three years,
they are very likely to outlive many other animals.
That is if humans can keep
their meddling paws to themselves.
Unlikely.
Maintaining two skeletal systems
and hunting baby birds is what
some tortoises do.
And that’s why they’re Crazy Creatures.