Seven giant tortoises have been found dead in a forest near Exeter and an investigation has been launched, police have said.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the remains of the two tortoises were found in Ashclyst Forest, which is owned by the National Trust, in north-east of Exeter, last Monday and a further five creatures were found nearby on Friday, 12 January.
Detectives have been attempting to identify the owners and are trying to establish the circumstances that led to the animals being disposed of, the force said.
It added that they are believed to be Aldabra giant tortoises, an animal with a protected status that are classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Inspector Mark Arthurs said: “We are appealing to members of the public for information to try to establish the circumstances around this discovery and to identify those responsible. We would ask that if anyone knows anything, they get in touch.”
“We would also like to hear from anyone who has recently purchased a giant tortoise in the area or knows of anyone who normally has a large number of tortoises but has fewer now.”
A spokeswoman for the National Trust said: “We can confirm that sadly seven rare Aldabra giant tortoises have been discovered dead on National Trust land near Exeter over the past few days. The tortoises are not native to the UK. The incident is now being investigated by police and we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Officers are appealing to the public for information that could help identify where the animals came from, or contribute to their investigation.
A spokesperson for the RSPCA said: “We are aware of the distressing discovery of several large dead tortoises in Ashclyst Forest near Cullompton, Devon.
“While Devon & Cornwall Police are leading on this matter, we would like to find out what happened to these animals. If any members of the public have any information about the tortoises, including who might have owned them, we would ask them to contact us on the RSPCA appeals line on 0300 123 8018.”
The Aldabra Atoll, an island in the Seychelles, is the largest raised atoll in the world. It is a Unesco world heritage marine site.
According to the ICUN, Seychelles Islands Foundation (SIF) has been managing the breed on the island since 1981, meaning they have been protected for 36 years with no extraction of the resources, no destruction of habitat and enforced protection of the marine protected area.
Anyone with any information that could help with inquiries should call 101 and quote 50240006127.
Alternatively, the independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling freephone 0800 555111.
What is an Aldabra tortoise and how many are there in the world?
Aldabra tortoises, together with their distantly related cousin, the Galapagos giant tortoise, are the largest species of tortoise in the world.
The Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles holds the world’s largest population of the reptile, with around 152,000 on the island. Some British zoos and wildlife parks also hold a handful of tortoises, including Paignton Zoo, in Devon, Wingham Wildlife Park, in Kent and Colchester Zoo in Essex.
They can live for more than 150 years, with some shells reaching more than a metre in length, and can weigh up to 250kg. The heaviest Aldabra tortoise weighed 305 kg and is the world’s largest free-roaming tortoise ever recorded, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute, in Washington, says.
According to Paignton Zoo, in Devon, Aldabra giant tortoises live on the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, in open grassy areas with trees and bushes, scrubland and mangrove swamps.
They are protected by the Seychelles Islands Foundation and some conservation breeding programmes exist, mainly on the Seychelles and Mauritius, to protect this species and ensure their survival. Current threats to their existence include climate change, habitat destruction and hunting, the zoo says.
They are largely omnivores, surviving largely on vegetation but they occasionally eat invertebrates.
