Culture Buzz Brendon Grimshaw bought this island for $20,000 in 1964. He lives alone on the island with tortoises he reintroduced to his private island in the Seychelles. Also, he is hilarious and seems very happy.
This tortoise won't tolerate cats eating on his patio. You've been warned, cats. You've totally been warned.
Culture Buzz Tortoises may not be predisposed to swimming, but boy, can they surf. Also, try not to be jealous of Nemo the tortoise's lifestyle. Some day you'll be able to retire to the Florida seashore too, I'm sure.
Sometimes tortoises do things just to demonstrate that they’re capable of doing things. Like this, for example.
This goat hailed a tortoise taxi, but he didn’t know the Tortoise Taxi Drivers Association was on strike today. Poor little guy. Now he’ll never get home. (via SayOMG)
I don’t know about the rest of you, but this soundtrack plays in my head every time I see a tortoise.
This lemur must have cash, since he’s upgraded from taking the tortoise taxi to the tortoise train. Or is it cheaper to take the train these days? Still, I like to think the tortoises get paid more for coordinating this.
Culture Buzz 10 pictures of happy turtles, and possibly tortises and terrapins too. (Dammit Jim! I'm a doctor, not a biologist!) From the single serve site ecstaticturtle.com, which is exactly what it sounds like. For turtlefeed, to make up for this.
The latest video in the “animals riding tortoises” genre involves a chihuahua in a skirt. I don't know how tortoises got stuck taxiing around the rest of the animal kingdom, but at least this passenger is well behaved and well dressed.
If you're going to have an underwater wedding, be sure to get approval from the local sea turtles BEFORE the ceremony. Otherwise, they get ornery. (Via TortoiseBlog.)
Meet R2-D2 Tortoise and Yoda Dog. They want to re-enact a scene from Star Wars for you. You're totally welcome.
Culture Buzz DeviantArt user ART-fromthe-HEART creates some incredible turtles out of your everyday gourds. Want one of your own? It's your lucky day. The artist takes commissions and offers many of her finished sculptures for sale.
Sherman the tortoise has been terrorizing the household cats. So it's off to the local reptile expert to figure out why Sherman is such a bully. This all seems a bit silly to me — tortoises can be territorial, after all. Although his mother DID abandon him while he was still in the egg.
The word on the street is that this tortoise seems to be yelling “b*tch” while mating with his girlfriend. Personally, I don't think a tortoise would ever be so crude. I'll leave it up to you guys to decide what's going on here.
Turn your volume up! The sound of a tortoise eating an apple is delightful. I promise.
This baby tortoise is eating too much lettuce. And you know what happens when a tortoise eats too much lettuce. (via Nick)
To be honest, I'm not sure what kind of creature is riding that tortoise either. But in the animal world, tortoises must be the equivalent of taxi cabs.
Tortoises rarely vocalize. When they do, you can be sure that they have something important to say.
My turtles sometimes like to rearrange the shrubbery in their tank, but they haven't graduated to redecorating the patio yet.
Spoon feeding a tortoise is all kinds of adorable, but you have to wonder how spoiled she'll be when she grows up.
They say you should let sleeping dogs lie. Luckily there's no such adage regarding cats.
Lula is an 11 month old toddler, and Leonard is an African Leopard Tortoise. Despite their differences, they are the best of friends. And somehow, playing together magnifies their individual cute factor by a gazillion and two. (via Neatorama and Tortoiseblog.)
Culture Buzz I really don't know what's worse here — the kinky shoe-loving tortoises, or the owners that film them and post them to Youtube. I guess the squeaking is somewhat endearing.
I love watching tortoises eat. But watching this guy chow down on buttercups is especially sublime. [N.B.: Probably don't feed your tortoise buttercups, as it's not always good for them, even though it's cute.]
Culture Buzz Angus the tortoise frequents Renaissance Fairs in Minnesota. Unusual enough, right? Except Angus goes in costume and solicits donations for the Minnesota Herpetological Society. If you've never seen an armed tortoise in a kilt or carting around fairy folk, now's your chance.
Take this, kittens on a slide. This tortoise is coordinated and just as cute. (For Joy)
You have to love a tortoise who greets the world with a “RAWR.” For more pictures of newly hatched animals, check out the Daily Mail.