Paul Rose is a leader of a small expedition who is visiting a place called, “Assumption Island.” They want to record several animals who can only be found there. Suddenly, Paul Rose hears something in the bushes. He’s almost sure that he knows what is making the sound but decides to get a little closer to confirm his suspicions. He’s traveling along with a cameraman who captures everything. Paul approaches two giant tortoises who happen to be mating. He’s afraid he has ruined such a romantic encounter.
He says for the video, “They’ve stopped mating. I’m not sure if it’s because we’ve got close or because they’ve just finished, but either way it’s a wonderful thing to experience,” he continues. “Two beautiful tortoises mating right under the bush. There’s nothing else going on. No sound on this island at all. So, it was the sound of their mating that alerted us to walk 200 yards.”
He is clearly amazed at these amazing creatures, but it becomes clear that he has angered the male tortoise. The tortoise may be slow, but he wants to make sure that everyone there knows what their limits are supposed to be and not wander any further. To Paul’s surprise, the male tortoise charges him in an attempt to kick him out of his turf.
“This is what you call dogged tortoise determination,” comments Rose. “He hasn’t seen my finishing sprint yet! You can’t blame him. He’s over there in the bushes mating on this beautiful quiet island, and I jumped up to take a look. Who can blame him?” The tortoise continues chasing him but what is so funny is that this is probably the slowest chase in history!
Tortoises are slow, but they can be dangerous if they get close to humans. Fortunately, that’s not happening anytime soon. This is one of the reasons that we need to be respectful when approaching any animals. As humans, we tend not to consider what animals might be thinking and we just go and cross wherever we need to cross like we own the place.
If it had been another animal such as a lion, the result would not have been the same. I have heard a lot of stories of people wandering into the woods and getting the scare of their lives when they encounter something they didn’t expect. But as far as this encounter was concerned, it was one with a hilarious ending!
