Giant tortoise stuns wildlife experts in Seychelles by attacking and eating baby bird on camera

[Still Waters]

A "horrifying" video showing a giant tortoise devouring a baby bird has taken researchers by surprise.

The footage, filmed in Frégate Island, Seychelles, shows a Seychelles giant tortoise, which is widely considered to be a herbivore, slowly approaching a tern chick on a log.

It reaches out with its mouth open several times as it retreats along the log. As the chick stops at the end of the log, the tortoise closes its jaws on its head, killing the chick.

The video stops there, but Anna Zora, a conservation manager who filmed the encounter, described seeing the tortoise then pursue the chick at the bottom of the log before swallowing it whole.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-08-24/herbivore-no-more-giant-tortoise-stuns-experts-by-eating-baby-bird-on-camera

The article does not contain graphic images.

[Saru]

Certainly unexpected behavior for a giant tortoise.

[+Jon the frog]

Preparing itself to lay eggs? Have seen cow eating baby cats, deer are one of the first to chew off parts of corpse, it's just free protein.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Jon the frog

[Troublehalf]

Opportunistic carnivores. I've seen horses eat baby chickens. I've also seen a turtle eat a pigeon. Seen chicken eat mice. The animal world isn't so neatly organised as people might think.

[Twin]

I ate a turtle once.

[Abramelin]

I ate monkey once (1991).

Well, I am not a vegetarian.

It tasted great, btw.

[Abramelin]

On 8/25/2021 at 3:52 PM, Still Waters said:

The article does not contain graphic images.

Reality is too harsh for some.

[Abramelin]

On 8/25/2021 at 3:52 PM, Still Waters said:

A "horrifying" video showing a giant tortoise devouring a baby bird has taken researchers by surprise.

Why is this more horrifying than watching a lion devouring an antilope?

[HandsomeGorilla]

when your Chick fil A doesn't get delivered on time 

[Vox]

Even the bird was shocked!

[thedutchiedutch]

7 hours ago, Twin said:

I ate a turtle once.

I love turtle. It's tasty 

[Peterk505]

My cat puked up a mole.

[+Jon the frog]

19 hours ago, Abramelin said:

Why is this more horrifying than watching a lion devouring an antilope?

Seen a croc ripping off the face of a zebra on youtube ?

[Abramelin]

24 minutes ago, Jon the frog said:

Seen a croc ripping off the face of a zebra on youtube ?

I'll bet that video has already been removed.

And no, I haven't.

[+DanL]

A tortoise is an omnivorous feeder. It just isn't often that they find something slow enough for them to catch.

[Mattacaster]

That bird couldn't have been too bright itself. Instead of flying/hopping/walking away after a giant head tries to eat you, it moved a couple of inches away. Here comes the giant head again. Bird moves 4 inches away. Giant head. 4 inches. Giant head. Falls off log dead after being crushed by the mouth on the giant head.

If it had waddled off away from the giant head, it would have survived. Here is this concept put into practice on a Walking Dead survival guide video.

https://youtu.be/Uo66cJT6hWw

[+DanL]

Yeppers, that was evolution in action!

[MysteryMike]

This is just the beginning.

Giant tortoises are beginning to re-evolve into dinosaurs.

[InconceivableThoughts]

On 10/18/2021 at 7:46 AM, MysteryMike said:

This is just the beginning.

Giant tortoises are beginning to re-evolve into dinosaurs.

Correct me if I'm wrong .... wouldn't it be evolve still? Not re-evolve, because I dont think things devolve or anything like that.... they just keep evolving and also ....dinosaurs aren't reptiles......

[InconceivableThoughts]

On 10/17/2021 at 4:54 PM, Mattacaster said:

That bird couldn't have been too bright itself. Instead of flying/hopping/walking away after a giant head tries to eat you, it moved a couple of inches away. Here comes the giant head again. Bird moves 4 inches away. Giant head. 4 inches. Giant head. Falls off log dead after being crushed by the mouth on the giant head.

If it had waddled off away from the giant head, it would have survived. Here is this concept put into practice on a Walking Dead survival guide video.

https://youtu.be/Uo66cJT6hWw

That bird species = extinct

That tortoise and any like it will more than likely die as well mainly because of the other tortoises realize they need to evolve longer legs and lose the shells and evolve in to some type of lizard .  As for the video....smh....i was telling myself the whole time "he wont do it" and i feel so was the bird. He was like "Dude, man , gary whats wrong man? Like chill bruh! this Isnt like you ".....This had to the most climatic video ive ever seen. I knew what was going to happen  but it was played with my emotions for so long ... I was emotionally drained by the end.