Tortoise Tomfoolery

Tortoise Tomfoolery

From Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

December 12, 2025 · 29 min

About this episode

The episode explores the surprising cognitive abilities and personalities of tortoises, challenging the stereotype of their slowness and dullness.

Tortoises have traditionally been the poster child for slowness. These ancient, armoured reptiles are solitary, territorial and all-too-often dismissed as dull. In fact, tortoises have distinct personalities. They have changeable moods, can learn simple tasks, remember certain useful information for years and even recognise familiar people. But can they play? Hot on the trail of tortoise tomfoolery, Hannah and Dara explore the stereotype-smashing studies that show there's far more to these creatures than previously thought; and find out that these complex behaviours might apply not only to the turtle clan, but potentially other reptiles as well... To submit your question to the Curious Cases team, please email: curiouscases@bbc.co.uk Contributors: - Anna Wilkinson, Professor of Animal Cognition at the University of Lincoln - Unnar Karl Aevarsson, Herpetologist at ZSL London Zoo - Gordon Burghardt, Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of Psychology, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee Producer: Lucy Taylor Executive Producer: Alexandra Feachem A BBC Studios Production

People in this episode

Hosts: Hannah, Dara

Guests: Anna Wilkinson, Unnar Karl Aevarsson, Gordon Burghardt

Topics covered

  • tortoises
  • animal cognition
  • reptile behavior
  • personality
  • learning
  • memory

Keywords

  • tortoise
  • cognition
  • behavior
  • learning
  • memory
  • reptiles
  • personality

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Lincoln, ZSL London Zoo, University of Tennessee, BBC Studios

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