ATTACK OF THE MANEATING TORTOISES!
Horror as evil lettuce-eating beast devours baby bird
A GIANT tortoise defied its historically plant-based diet and turned FLESH EATER when it was spotted snacking on a baby bird in what boffins have called a “horrifying” moment.
Ecological researchers at the Cambridge University’s Museum of Zoology caught the disturbing incident on video, shot on Frégate Island in the Indian Ocean.
Lead researcher Justin Gerlach, director of studies at Peterhouse College, said: “This is completely unexpected behaviour and has never been seen before in wild tortoises.
Disturbing
“The giant tortoise pursued the tern chick along a log, finally killing and eating it.
“It was a very slow encounter, with the tortoise moving at its normal, slow walking pace. The whole interaction took seven minutes and was quite horrifying.”
Now boffins fear pet tortoises could be next to turn and begin to devour their human owners as they sleep!
Respected zoologist Professor Mike Turnbolt, of the University of West Lancashire, said: “This is disturbing, to say the least.
“Once these cumbersome creatures have a taste for flesh it might be impossible to persuade them to eat bits of lettuce or cucumber again.
“They might move slowly but they are pretty dogged creatures, and they have sharp beaks. They’ll start with a finger and take it from there, is how I see this panning out.”
Frégate Island conservation manager and study co-author Anna Zora said she was alerted to keep her camera’s lens pointed at the tortoise when she “saw it moving in a strange way”.
The slow-moving reptile was stalking its prey, a tern chick, she said, adding: “It’s moving deliberately, it’s not just wandering about.
Gerlach said: “It’s looking at this tern, and it’s walking at it, clearly intending to do something.
“That suggests to me that it’s doing it with intent. It knows what it’s doing, it’s done this before. It looked experienced at hunting.”