Maybe it’s time to retire the “giant giant” phrase.
Researchers in Seychelles have filmed the hunting of giant turtles and devoured the Tern in one gulp.
The scientists involved in the discovery said it was the first time such an action was captured on the camera.
Even they are shaken.
“It’s really surprising and rather terrible,” said Justin Gerlach, an ecologist island at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in England.
“The turtle deliberately pursued this bird and killed him, and then ate it.
So yes, it’s hunting.” Giant turtles, now only found in Seychelles and Galápagos Islands, believed to be Herbivora.
In fact, their vegetarian diet is expected to form its ecosystem, similar to elephants or bison.
But in a paper published Monday in the current journal Biology, Gerlach and Anna Zora, the Joint Author at the Frégate Island Foundation, explain that there have been instructions that large reptiles can add their food now and then.
Turtles sometimes consume shellfish and snail bones from dead birds, goats and even other turtles.
But hunting? There are rumors about turtles follow sea birds, who are helpless after they fall from their nests.
But until the video was arrested – revealing a rather like PD Eastman’s scene “Are you my mother?”, If it was instead written by Roald Dahl – Gerlach who was considered the best misunderstanding.
“Nobody looks for it, because why are you? Turtle doesn’t hunt,” said Gerlach.
“You won’t waste time looking for hunting turtles.” Now he wonders what else can we learn from these creatures, which can live more than 200 years and grow to more than 500 pounds.
“This is the mystery they find here, said James Gibbs, an Hempetologist at New York State University and Galápagos Conservancy who was not involved in this study.
When Gibbs watched the video, he was surprised to see how slow and the attack was revealed.” It is a very interesting combination of perseverance and inability, “he said.
Gibbs has studied giant turtles for about 30 years in Galápagos, where he said the turtle has developed a strange relationship with birds.” The turtle will go up and expand All members of their body and tails, and Finch will come and take care of them, “said Gibbs.” I’ve heard for years that sometimes the turtle will fall and eat it and eat it.
But it’s just anecdote, and after spending a lot, for years there, I’ve never seen it myself.
“But there is nothing wrong what happens in the video from Seychelles.
Indeed, scientists noted that turtles show signs of previous seabird hunting girls.
For example, when turtles eat leaves, grass, or fruit, they extend the tongue They and draw food into their mouths.
But the turtle in the video has his tongue withdrawn and his eyes closed – the signs are aware of the number of specific dangers with this food source.
“This behaves in a different way of feeding normally,” said Gerlach.
“It’s not just gathering food.
It kills to collect food.
“According to Gibbs, that giant turtles are women may be an important clue for surprising behavior.
The island system tends to lack calcium, critical minerals to build egg skin.
So, while the attacks of helpless girls in helpless tortoises may be difficult for some People to watch, predation actions can be one way of animals ensuring the success of the next generation.
“We are used to thinking about them as not too interesting, slow moving and slow.
Maybe it’s pretty stupid, “Gerlach said about giant turtles.” But obviously there are more than these animals.
“