Video Of A Tortoise Rescuing Another Of Its Species Goes Viral – Expert Feels There Were Some Ulterior Motives Involved

It is always great to see an animal getting rescued. And if the rescuer is another animal, then the rescue becomes even sweeter and impactful.

The internet recently witnessed one such rescue involving two tortoises. When one tortoise went “turtle,” the other one rushed to its aid and helped it flip over. Needless to say, the video uploaded on YouTube of a tortoise helping another get back on its feet has warmed the hearts of millions of viewers. However, animal behaviorists are cautioning that the seemingly kind-hearted tortoise might not have a completely altruistic motive.

The incident happened in Taiwan’s Taipei Zoo, where the two tortoises were housed in an enclosure. The video starts with a tortoise who has completely flipped on its back and appears helpless. The other tortoise “quickly” rushes to help his comrade. Using his front paws and shell, the rescuer is seen slowly going underneath the other one. With a quick motion that might cause the watcher to forget it’s a tortoise, the rescuer deftly turns the other tortoise around. Spectators can be heard cheering in the background. Happy to have regained its mobility, the tortoise quickly crawls away, with the rescuer in tow.

Though the scene appears to be heroic, the intentions might not be, cautions David Steen, a turtle and reptile expert at Auburn University in Alabama, reported National Geographic. He feels it was the rescuer himself who might have flipped the other one, as ramming one another is quite common in the species. He feels the tortoises might be fighting over the same female, and one of them rammed the other one a little harder than planned.

If not males getting tough with each other, it could be a case of a male trying to tire out a female. The male tortoise often pursues a female aggressively until she wears out and gives in, says David. The male tortoise “could just be on cruise control and be ramming [the other tortoise] nonstop. I’m leaning toward the male-female theory,” shared David.

Whatever might be the case, there isn’t any indication that both the tortoises were friends and one was simply helping the other, shared David,

“There’s no interpretation that I can think of where the tortoises are friends and trying to save each other. I know I’m kind of being a buzzkill here.”

In essence, it’s very likely the tortoise which saved the other tortoise is the one that put it on its back in the first place, feels David. So much for a selfless act of camaraderie.

[Image Credit | YouTube Screen-Grab]