14 DAY TRIAL // Most people are quite convinced that tortoises are well-behaved animals that would never harm anybody, simply because they are too slow and appear too at ease with the world to even dream about throwing a fit.
As it turns out, this is not the case, and the news about how one police officer had to pull a gun on a tortoise to defend himself and escape the animal's nasty bites stands as proof.
The incident occurred in Uganda, a country in East Africa, only a few days ago. The name of the officer who came very close to being severely injured by a tortoise gone mental is Charles Onegiu, Opposing Views informs.
As detailed by local media, the police officer was just minding his own business in his home in Uganda's Nebbi District when a tortoise appeared pretty much out of the blue and attempted to bite his legs.
Charles Onegiu says that, although quite taken aback by the incident, he did not panic. On the contrary, the man first tried to use a stick to guide the unwelcome visitor out of his home and back in the nearby woods.
For some reason, the tortoise refused to budge. What's more, Charles Onegiu claims that it turned even more aggressive. At this point, the man let go of the stick and instead grabbed hold of a plastic chair which he used to defend himself.
Eventually, he managed to make a run for it. However, since the tortoise was coming after him, looking all vicious and hungry for revenge, the police officer was left with no choice but pull his gun, point it towards the animal and shoot.
“I tried to scare it but the tortoise became very aggressive. I took a stick to chase it but it instead became more violent making me to make alarm. I immediately picked a plastic chair to hit it,” the man told the press.
“When [the tortoise] came out, I reached for my gun and shot it dead. It was a very big white tortoise. As I talk now, I am still scared because it is the first time I have seen such an incident happen in my life or heard of one,” he further detailed his experience.
In Uganda, people believe that animal attacks are an indicator of the fact that one has enemies who are looking to do the same thing. Hence, after the tortoise was shot dead, locals prayed over its lifeless body and eventually set it on fire.