Curious Cases

Tortoise Tomfoolery

29 snips
Dec 12, 2025
In a lively chat, guests Anna Wilkinson, a cognitive animal expert, Unnar Karl Aevarsson, a herpetologist from ZSL London Zoo, and Gordon Burghardt, a distinguished professor, dive into the surprising intellect of tortoises. They discuss tortoise personalities, memory, and even their capacity for play, challenging the notion that these creatures are dull. Anecdotes about tortoise behaviors and the importance of enrichment reveal how tortoises exhibit moods and recognize humans, reshaping our understanding of their cognitive abilities.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
ADVICE

Create Comfortable Conditions First

  • Provide reptiles with comfortable, non-stressful environments to reveal play-like behaviours.
  • Enrichment and meeting basic needs increase the likelihood of observing play in captivity.
ANECDOTE

Shelby Playing With A Ball

  • Dara describes Shelby pushing a football around and nosing bright objects, showing object-directed interaction.
  • He notes Shelby prefers colourful plastic objects and will follow or nudge them repeatedly.
INSIGHT

Defining Play Across Species

  • Anna defines play as non-functional, spontaneous, repeated behaviour differing from serious acts like mating.
  • She stresses play often appears in juveniles, during different timing, and when animals are comfortable.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app