The video of a turtle hunting a small bird was so shocking that it became a hot topic.
A picture of a giant tortoise, which should have been herbivorous, attacking and eating a bird's chick that fell from its nest. This is the first time a giant tortoise has been photographed hunting a bird, and researchers say it is 'a completely unexpected behavior.'
Giant tortoises hunt and consume birds: Current Biology
Tortoise hunts baby bird in slow-motion, crushes its skull in shocking video | Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/giant-tortoise-hunts-and-eats-bird-video.html
'Horrifying and amazing': giant tortoise filmed attacking and eating baby bird | Wildlife | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/23/horrifying-and-amazing-giant-tortoise-filmed-attacking-and-eating-baby-bird
The turtles that hunt and eat small birds were photographed on Fregate Island in Seychelles. About 3,000 giant tortoises live on Fregate Island, and the photographed giant tortoise is believed to be one of the Aldabra giant tortoises that have been considered herbivores.
The Slow-Mo Hunt: Tortoise VS Bird --YouTube
A giant tortoise straddles a fallen tree, and a small bird of brown noddy perches at the end of its line of sight. It seems that the little bird accidentally fell from the nest on the tree.
The giant tortoise slowly approaches, and the little bird is driven to the edge of the tree.
A giant tortoise that opens its mouth many times and stretches its neck to bite a little bird. Each time the bird flaps its wings and tries to escape.
Offense and defense are repeated ...
Finally, the giant tortoise bites the bird's head.
The next moment the giant tortoise opens its mouth, the little bird falls under the tree without force.
The footage ends when the bird falls, but according to Anna Zora, Deputy Manager for Nature Maintenance and Sustainability on Fregate Island, the giant tortoise has since eaten the bird as a whole. That thing.
After filming the footage, Zora emailed Justin Gerlach, director of biology at the University of Cambridge, Peterhouse, who has been studying giant tortoises since 1996. Mr. Garrack, who received the e-mail, thought, 'It's impossible. I think I misunderstood something,' so I was surprised to see the video.
Giant tortoises are usually docile herbivores, and Garrack explains that they rarely walk intentionally except when fighting between males for females. However, the photographed giant tortoise is disproportionate to the 'light meal', and the appearance of the giant tortoise with its tongue retracted and its mouth wide open is 'a typical appearance of an aggressive turtle'. Garrack said. Giant tortoises seemed to know that small birds couldn't fly like adults, so 'maybe it wasn't the first hunt,' Garrack and Zora think.
Giant tortoises basically eat a plant-based diet, but it has been observed that they eat animal bones and snail shells, which is thought to be for the purpose of calcium intake. Garrack also says that he may eat the meat of dead animals to get protein. Although some anecdotes about 'turtles hunting small birds' have been reported, this is the first time that they have actually been captured as images. 'It's different from what we've been thinking about turtle behavior,' Garrack said, but the footage could make turtle behavior more complex than previously thought. It also explains that sex was shown.
In addition, it is thought that the reason why the little bird was eaten by the giant tortoise without leaving the tree is that it was not able to get down to the ground because it recognizes that the ground is dangerous because it usually lives on the tree. I am.
The seabird tern is increasing in number on Fregate Island, and it is said that 265,000 birds inhabit the entire island. Restoration of the seabird ecosystem may lead to unexpected interactions between the two species, giant tortoises and terns. The footage shot this time may be 'general behavior of turtles that have not been observed for hundreds of years' and evidence of 'a new population of turtles with evolutionary implications'. Garrack said it was also sexual.
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