Tortoise Mythbusters!

[Madkins007]

Myth: animals are uncapable of showing emotion or reading emotions of other animals. They cannot feel nor think logically.

I would like to say that this one is totally busted.

When I first got Sonya and Boris, Sonya was so shy that she hid in her shell most of the time. Boris nudged her and she followed him everywhere.

When I tried to seperate Boris and Sonya (Boris tends to be a bit of a bully), Boris gets distressed and searches everywhere she normally hides. He even digs where she normally tunnels.

When Boris had free reign of the apartment and I went looking for him, calling his name, he came right to me, looked at me and walked away. Little snot!

Patches, my young calico cat, has befriended Boris and Sonya. They have accepted her into their "family." Boris has once almost accepted her offer to play with a toy mouse.

(Puts on his Official "Dr. Science (TM) Cap O' Science" and gets his "Mr. Wizard" Brand Pointer)

Not so fast. A myth is a myth until it is busted by SCIENCE. Are there reasons for the behaviors you see that do not involve emotions, logical thinking, etc.?

You make three claims-
1. "animals are uncapable of showing emotion"
2. "or reading emotions of other animals."
3. "They cannot feel nor think logically."

Let's start with #3. I'll give you a fair 'BUSTED' on this one, although I would not have phrased it that way. I would have phrased it "Tortoises demonstrate problem solving skills and other elements of what is commonly called intelligent thinking." We know from a lot of lab experiments and filed observations that tortoises have roughly the same IQ, as it is interpreted for animals, as a white rat.

Point #1- Incapable of Emotions. This is a huge debate, and it focuses on exactly how we define emotions. From an anatomical/evolutionary point of view, the Reptilian Brain, the oldest part of the mammal or human brain and the entire brain of reptiles, is considered to be the source of very 'simple' emotions- things like happy, unhappy, scared, angry, aroused, curious, calm... basic states of being.

We can say this is BUSTED, that tortoises can experience basic emotions and be OK scientifically speaking. If you want to try to assign 'higher emotions', like loyalty or love, you'll be making an argument that people with PhD's and such discuss without ever coming to an agreement. Unless you have some really cool research for it, it will have to remain "unproven".

Point #2- Reading the Emotions of Other Animals. This is going to be hard to sell to me. I would agree that tortoises can recognize basic emotions in each other, but to assume a tortoise can read another species body language (beyond simple things like "ITS GOING TO ATTACK ME!") and determine an emotion there... I am not sure you can make that argument from your observations.

My reasoning...

The interactions you saw between Boris and Sonya are perfectly normal behaviors for a semi-social species- there is safety in numbers. If Boris feels safe, Sonya can feel safe near him- especially in a larger environment, like an apartment. If Boris senses food, she can follow him to food, etc. And it all works the other way around as well. (Speaking of which, I am sure you know we really don't recommend letting tortoises roam in an apartment. We can discuss this as another myth if you would like.)

The interactions with the cat can be looked at as the cat and the tortoises being curious about each other- neither animal falls into the traditional roles of predator, prey, food, mate, or competition, so curiosity often kicks in.

Interactions with you. There is no evidence that tortoises respond to having their names called, but they obviously recognize their main food source and know that if you are around there is a good chance they will be fed- especially if they also see or smell food.

I'm sorry, but without some better science, I cannot let you call #2 busted.

(Removes Cap O' Science and puts Pointer back in its lock box.)

None of this means that they are not cool, intelligent, friendly animals- it just means that we have to be careful about giving them human emotions and characteristics and calling that science or proof or anything.