# SULCATA...PREDATOR or SCAVENGER (WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS...NOT FOR THE WEAK)



## DeanS (May 31, 2012)

I was giving everyone their day-end soak, when I discovered Jamie jerking her head back and forth. Given that Aladar was less than 5 feet from her...I feared the worst. He has NEVER shown ANY aggression...and I didn't think he would now! As I approached, I noticed that she had a baby bird in her mouth...she had just scooped it up as it hit the ground...obviously having fallen from its nest. I ran to grab my camera...and in less than thirty seconds...this is what I came back to...


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## ALDABRAMAN (May 31, 2012)

Maybe both! Great photo's.


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## l0velesly (May 31, 2012)

Oh my goodness!


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## badkitty (May 31, 2012)

Poor birdie


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## dmarcus (May 31, 2012)

If its in there area it will be considered food by them...


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## cemmons12 (May 31, 2012)

Wow! That is pretty shocking to a point. I could understand it more if this was a wild Sulcata that was on its own. I think they will eat just about anything. And I base this off just having 1 Sulcata. Cooper will grab up anything with a halfway decent smell, and that's just the things I have caught him with. When he is outside I walk the whole yard with him to make sure he don't find cat/dog poop or anything else 4 that matter!


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## N2TORTS (May 31, 2012)

Yummmie! .... Great shots .. and once again ..PROVEN MYTHS caught on film about Tortoises their diets , location .. bla bla bla .....
My Rf's and cherries will scarf down baby chicks and pinkies ...all day long. 
Dean thanks for posting simply awesome! ... 

JD~


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## Laura (May 31, 2012)

one of my larger sulcatas was watching sparrows drink water out of their water hole. I noticed him move really slow and stand up on his tippy toes.. He was about 3 feet away.. i wasnt sure what he was doing, but I wnoder if it was like setting a trap.. waiting... then wham.. 
I think there is a lot we dont know about these guys...


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## Tom (May 31, 2012)

Laura said:


> I think there is a lot we dont know about these guys...



I second THAT motion.

Amazing pics Dean. So tell me... What is your favorite species of tortoise?


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## Jacob (May 31, 2012)

This shows even captive reptiles are still wild 
Funny You posted this the birds have been bad around here where i live in paso robles, ca 
the birds are nesting everywhere i found a couple dead babies in my tortoise pen, i removed them as soon as
i seen them so my guy wouldnt eat them.


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## wellington (May 31, 2012)

As much as I hate seeing things like that. It is pretty amazing. I wouldn't have thought he would eat the whole bird. More like a nibble or two. I guess if you place your tort in the wild, grazing along the deserts, plains, marshes, where ever the certain species is from, they are not eating off of the clean, bug, dirt, feces, animal, etc, free plates/tile we feed them from. They are getting what ever is in their path of eating.


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## Yvonne G (May 31, 2012)

I'm sorry, but one of our members recently got a tongue lashing because they condoned their cat hunting wild creatures. Shame, shame, Dean! Probably a song bird, at that. Strictly illegal.


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## DeanS (May 31, 2012)

emysemys said:


> I'm sorry, but one of our members recently got a tongue lashing because they condoned their cat hunting wild creatures. Shame, shame, Dean! Probably a song bird, at that. Strictly illegal.



ONLY if you consider a sparrow a songbird! 

I'm still kinda blown away...because Jamie's not even three years old yet!


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## chairman (May 31, 2012)

Last year I caught my then 3 year old munching on the remains of a bird that one of the neighbor's barn cats left in her enclosure. There's good calcium in bone...

If we're voting, though, I have to go with scavenger over predator. I wish it was predator as my tortoise shed mice are too smart for traps and the wild snakes just aren't keeping up to my liking.


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## bigred (May 31, 2012)

emysemys said:


> I'm sorry, but one of our members recently got a tongue lashing because they condoned their cat hunting wild creatures. Shame, shame, Dean! Probably a song bird, at that. Strictly illegal.



Very funny, I think I remember something about that


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## reticguy76 (Jun 1, 2012)

As with most wild animals, its all about opportunity. 

Great pics


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## Baoh (Jun 1, 2012)

Neat photographs. Several of my tortoises have either taken down live birds or eaten bird remains.


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## tubularseco (Jun 1, 2012)

FANTASTIC PHOTOS!!!


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## Dizisdalife (Jun 1, 2012)

About a month ago I found the remains of a bird in my sulcata's pen and assumed it to be the work of the local Coopers Hawk. Maybe not? May explain where the small feather in his night box came from.


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## Laura (Jun 1, 2012)

Torts have been killed on highways etc.. and its not always due to them crossing. they have been witnesed eating roadkill and become it themselves...


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## Baoh (Jun 1, 2012)

Dizisdalife said:


> About a month ago I found the remains of a bird in my sulcata's pen and assumed it to be the work of the local Coopers Hawk. Maybe not? May explain where the small feather in his night box came from.



The red-tails that live behind my house will disassemble their kills on the fence posts skirting my yard from time to time. When they do this, the parts the hawks miss or do not want fall into the yard and the tortoises gather beneath during the process, leaving nothing behind when finished.


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## Jacqui (Jun 2, 2012)

tubularseco said:


> FANTASTIC PHOTOS!!!



I agree! Glad you caught it on camera. I for one am way to slow to think that fast and grab a camera.





Baoh said:


> Dizisdalife said:
> 
> 
> > About a month ago I found the remains of a bird in my sulcata's pen and assumed it to be the work of the local Coopers Hawk. Maybe not? May explain where the small feather in his night box came from.
> ...



That's interesting!


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## [email protected] (Jun 14, 2012)

Great timing on capturing those pics!


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## expo tort (Jun 15, 2012)

If it fell out of the nest and died when it hit the ground it's still technically scavenging. And yes this is probably unnecessary to say but to prove to you how picky I am I go through the newspaper and look for mistakes the editor has made for fun.


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## jason g. (Jun 17, 2012)

Great pics I seen my baby chase some sparrows one day when they were messing with her spring mix. Maybe she was trying to add to her meal! Lol


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## Terry Allan Hall (Jun 18, 2012)

Came out one day and found about 6" of a gartersnake hanging out of my (former) Iberian's mouth...don't know if he caught it or a hawk dropped it, but he certainly polished it off!

As vegetarian's go, tortoises are open-minded...


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