Feeding the BFT!

- Now, you might be wondering, does Coyote Peterson always carry a little turtle in his pocket? Well, not always. But today we are going to talk about the differences between the tortoise and the tortoise. Say hello to Buckshot. (adventurous tribal music) (charming music) Turtles. Turtles. Turtles. For almost 200 million years, a reptile that we all know as a turtle has inhabited our planet. These cold-blooded ectotherms are protected by a hard bony shell. They breathe air and eat with their beaks. Of the 327 known species that exist today, some live in water, while others can be found on land. Since I was little I have been fascinated by these seemingly slow-moving creatures.

However, to the surprise of many people, they are actually quite fast, especially in water. But what about the stubby-legged, slow-moving terrestrial reptile that somehow defeated that speedy rabbit? Yes, I'm talking about the turtle. And the one question people always ask. Is a turtle a turtle or is a turtle a turtle? Well, there is an answer to that question. And to help us get to the bottom of this eternal mystery, we'll bring the cameras closer to one of the largest species in the world. Well, I hope everyone watching is excited, because right here in this bag, I have a ton of vegetables.

You know that vegetables are good for you, right? - Coyote, I don't think anyone is going to be crazy about vegetables, man. - Well, maybe you're not excited about vegetables, but you should be excited about who's going to eat them. Are you ready to see a giant turtle? - How big is this turtle? You brought a lot, is he going to eat all that? - Oh, he'll eat it all. We'll probably run out of food before we finish filming this segment. - Actually? - If you're ready, let's go meet Buckshot. - Buckshot, I like that name. - Oh yes, she is my friend. (gasps) There you are. - Oh my God. - Hello Buckshot.

This is the Galapagos tortoise, the largest species of tortoise in the world. And what we're going to do today is feed her dinner. Buckshot, hey, where are you going? All the food is around here. First bite. Oh, there's a big turtle poop, did you get into it? - I may have stepped in turtle poop. - I did it? Oh, I could have done it. Ah, she's in my trunk. - Oh man, friend, oh. Mark stepped in the turtle's poop. - Oh, is it on this foot too? - No. - It's just that side. - Okay, Buckshot come this way, away from the stern.

Come here, come on darling. - Shots. - Here we go. Now, one thing very different between tortoises and tortoises is the length of that neck. And she supports the entire weight of her body and stretches her neck. And they would do this in nature to look for plants that are higher up. She could get them down, fruits and berries. -Listen to those chewers. - Look at the bite of that beak. Now I'm trying to pay attention to where your camera is facing Mark, but I also have to pay attention to his beak, because you see when he bites and bites and throws his head forward.

And I don't want to lose a finger on that pickaxe. Oh, that's a little close. We are in South Florida right now. And this is one of the only Galapagos tortoises in captivity here in this area. And they gave us the opportunity to film with her. He is now 25 years old and weighs 140 pounds. In fact, he almost bit my nose off right there. No, my nose is not romaine lettuce. And she is an absolute giant. This turtle weighs almost as much as me. I weigh 155 pounds, so this creature is absolutely huge. And, wow, she's about to step on my leg.

Oh, look at this, this is great. See how high he can bounce with his 140 pound frame. You see it? - I can't even put it all in the frame, wow. - It's like a brachiosaurus, eating leaves at the top of a tree. Now, the Galapagos tortoise is herbivorous and obtains a large percentage of its moisture through the food it eats. And you can see how juicy, ooh, getting closer to my fingers. Okay, on to the next piece. You can see how juicy many of these vegetables are. Ah, here's something. Watch this. Oh, look at that. Check it out.

Look at that, she's standing on my leg. She's like crushing my ankle. Ha, I never thought she would be

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a Galapagos tortoise. I hope that one day we can end up on the Galapagos Island or one of the islands. Ah, that's better. Now she's no longer on my ankle. And she feeds some of these turtles in the wild. How about the cucumber? Let's take some cucumber. That's my personal favorite. There you go. - You know what you should do, Lady and the Tramp. - With the cucumber? - Put one end in your mouth. - Ready? (romantic music) Oh, she's standing over me, ready? - Go on, one more bite. -She's too close to my nose. - No no no, everything will be fine. (vinyl record scratches) (laughs) -She's too close, if she reaches my nose. (laughing) - Is there more cucumber in the bag? - Oh God.

I'm telling you, if I stick my finger in that beak, it's game over. She can easily cut off the tip of my finger. Oh, oh! She crushed my shin. Oh she did, maybe she's behind these. At 25 years old, she is only a fifth of her size. Now, at 140 pounds, they can weigh close to a thousand pounds. - Wow. - Imagine something that is five times this size. Look at this, it's me hugging a turtle. Let me see if I can hear her heartbeat. No, nothing inside that solid bone shell. Wow, I am so amazed by this creature.

It's huge, can you believe it? - And this is strange. There isn't a Galapagos tortoise on every corner. - No, many zoos have Galapagos tortoises, but they are actually very difficult to care for in captivity, so it is a unique situation for us to be able to get close to this animal. And like I said, I would love to be on the Galapagos Island one day, filming these creatures in the wild. But we certainly weren't going to pass up the opportunity to get him close to the cameras. - So, Coyote, I have a question. We were talking about turtles and freshwater turtles, and I'm a little confused.

What separates a tortoise from a tortoise? - Big question. Technically all turtles are tortoises, but not all tortoises are tortoises. Think about that for a second. Kinda crazy right? A bit brain altering. Let's look at the turtle's body structure, and that's what will help us distinguish it as separate from many of the aquatic turtles we're used to approaching. Alright, do you want to do that? - Let's do that. - Well, where do you want to start? - Let's talk about size. - Size, yes. Huge size, now turtles are big because they feed constantly, right? All this animal does on a daily basis is crawl into the sun, warm itself for a couple of hours, and then search for food all day long.

So the more it eats, the more it grows. And look at the sturdy body structure, right? Many species of turtles live in rugged environments, which has allowed them to adapt to a body structure like this. His skin is like leather. It feels like an old catcher's glove. Come on, put your hand there and feel it. - Feels like the skin of a rhino or an elephant. - Good? It's interesting that you mentioned elephant skin, because look at the structure of the legs, okay? Both front paws, there are no webbing on the feet, just these big twisted paws and these perplexed claws.

And then specifically the back legs, here go back and look at this. Let me make him stand at attention. It seems like Oh, I don't want to scare her. - It looks like an elephant's foot. - Yes, and that's called elephantine leg structure. And when he lifts his body, be careful, yes. - Very sensitive for a large turtle. - Look how his paw is next to my hand. I don't want to leave that there for too long, because if you step on my fingers, you might crush them. It's a bit of a risky position. But do you see it?

They have claws and, like turtles, lay eggs. Now let's look at the structure of the shell. Compared to a tortoise, a tortoise has a much more domed shell structure. Turtles are streamlined. They have narrower shells that allow them to move quickly through the water. A turtle does not go into the water. A turtle just needs to be able to traverse land. - Wow, it seems like turtles are specialized. - Yes. - For living on earth. So that's the big difference? - I would say the biggest difference between most species of tortoises and tortoises is that tortoises are specialized for living on land.

Now you have a few species of land turtles, like the box turtle and the wood turtle, two of my favorites that live in the United States. However, you will never find turtles in the water. You'll never come across a pond and say, "Oh, there's a turtle swimming around." Now, a turtle may wade into a puddle of water to drink and cool off, but you will never find it swimming. They just like it (hum), they dive like a giant tank. - Is full? No. - She is never full. Well, I would definitely say we learned a lot today.

And that technically all turtles are turtles. What distinguishes a gopher tortoise is that it is adapted to life on land. And I can tell you this: you never want to bring a turtle to a salad bar. - I think they could finish off a salad bar in about 20 minutes. - Oh yes, especially the Galapagos tortoise. I'm Coyote Petersen. Be brave. Stay wild. See you on the next adventure. See you later, Buckshot. The turtle is an evolutionary phenomenon that has fascinated both children and adults since the dawn of humanity. And whether you think they're adorable or scary, slimy or flaky, I think there are two things we can all agree on.

Turtles are one of the most unique animals on the planet. And I like turtles. If you thought

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the Galapagos tortoise was fascinating, be sure to go back and watch the episode where I fed carrots to another hungry giant, the moose. And don't forget, subscribe. So you can join me and the team in this season of Dragon Tails. - Hold on and let me take it out of your mouth. And don't let him knock your teeth out. People with false teeth sometimes lose them here. Here we go, wait, wait. (coyote howling)