'Heartless People': Visitors Seen Riding, Kicking Tortoise At China Park; Viral Video Sparks Outrage

A woman in China has sparked widespread outrage after video footage appeared to show her climbing onto a live tortoise while carrying a young child at a tourist attraction.

Woman climbs onto tortoise with child

The incident reportedly occurred on Friday at a tortoise experience area inside Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park in Foshan, Guangdong Province, according to China’s state-run Huanqiu.com.

Video from the attraction showed the woman standing on the back of an African spurred tortoise while holding a young girl. The animal appeared to struggle as it attempted to move under the added weight.

The woman was reportedly seen laughing before gesturing toward a nearby boy and encouraging him to climb onto the tortoise as well.

A witness who filmed the incident said other children had also stepped onto the animal, but criticized the woman's conduct as particularly serious.

"When the tortoise started writhing, she seemed to enjoy it even more and waved her son over to get on with her," the witness said.

Warning sign was ignored

The incident has drawn criticism because a sign at the attraction clearly instructed visitors not to step on or sit on the tortoises.

Despite the warning, the witness said no staff members intervened while the woman and children were on the animal.

The footage subsequently triggered an online backlash, with many people questioning the supervision and animal-welfare practices at the attraction.

Park orders veterinary examination

Following the criticism, Changlu Tourism and Leisure Park said it arranged for a veterinarian to examine the tortoise involved in the incident.

According to the park, the veterinary examination found the animal to be in good health. The attraction also said it would investigate whether there had been shortcomings in its on-site management.

The park emphasised that allowing visitors to climb onto tortoises is not simply a matter of making the animals uncomfortable.

Why standing on a tortoise can be dangerous

The park explained that a tortoise's shell is not a detached protective covering. It is connected to the animal's skeleton, including its spine and ribs, and contains nerves and blood vessels.

As a result, excessive pressure from a person's weight could potentially crack or damage the shell, injure the spine or place pressure on the animal's internal organs.

The warning highlights why visitors are generally expected to observe tortoises without climbing onto them, even when the animals appear capable of carrying substantial weight.

African spurred tortoise identified

The animal involved was identified as an African spurred tortoise, also known as a sulcata tortoise. The species is among the largest mainland tortoises and can grow significantly larger than the approximately 40-centimeter shell length reported in this case.

African spurred tortoises are listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning international trade in the species is subject to regulation.