Ashclyst Forest tortoises: Police investigate mysterious giant tortoises in UK wood - as ninth body appears

Authorities are continuing to investigate after a month of mysterious giant tortoises turning up dead around a Devon woodland.

The first two bodies were found in Ashclyst Forest, a National Trust site north-east of Exeter, on 8 January, and a further five were found nearby on 12 January. Devon and Cornwall Police this week said two further bodies had been located in the same area as part of their ongoing enquiries, bringing the total to nine tortoises found.

The force has been working with the National Wildlife Crime Unit and the RSPCA on the investigation, it said. An expert earlier told The Guardian that the first seven were Aldabra giant tortoises - a rare and particularly large-growing species native to the Seychelles.

The vulnerable tortoises can legally be kept as pets in the UK, but are protected - meaning special CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) papers are needed to import or own them. They can sell for as much as £2,000 per animal.

In their update, Devon and Cornwall Police said post-mortems still needed to be carried out to establish the tortoises' cause of death. So far, a man in his 50s from the Exeter area has attended a voluntary police interview in relation to suspected offences under the Animal Welfare Act.

Inspector Mark Arthurs said: “We are grateful for the public support in response to our appeal and have been working through the information we have received. We have been working closely with specialists, including the RSPCA and our colleagues from the National Wildlife Crime Unit."

But he added that their enquiries were still ongoing, and they needed the public's help. Anyone with any information that could help police with the investigation is urged to contact the force via its website here, or by calling 101 and quoting reference number 50240006127.

Alternatively, tips can be handed anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling freephone 0800 555111.