This Tortoise Broke a 37-Year-Old Record at Just 0.62 MPH

Quick Take

• Bertie isn't even from the tortoise species considered the fastest, so how did he end up with the record?
• The previous record had stood untouched for 37 years, and the story of how it finally fell is stranger than you'd expect.
• At 0.62 mph, most people would laugh. Yet that number is genuinely impressive when understood in context.
• A decade later, no tortoise has come close to beating Bertie, and his personal life has taken some unexpected turns since the record.

A top speed of 0.62 mph would not earn most animals much attention. For a tortoise named Bertie, it was fast enough to make history.

The leopard tortoise from County Durham, England, covered an 18-foot course in just 19.59 seconds, breaking a Guinness World Record that had stood for 37 years. More than a decade later, Bertie is still officially the fastest tortoise ever recorded.

Quick Take

• Bertie reached 0.28 meters per second, or about 0.62 mph, during his record-setting run.
• He completed the 5.48-meter, or roughly 18-foot, course in 19.59 seconds.
• His 2014 run broke a tortoise speed record that had stood since 1977.
• Bertie is a leopard tortoise, although another species, the pancake tortoise, is considered the fastest tortoise species overall.

Bertie Broke a 37-Year-Old Record in 19.59 Seconds

Bertie lives at Adventure Valley in Brasside, near Durham in the United Kingdom. His owners, Marco and Janine Calzini, realized their tortoise was unusually quick after comparing him with the existing Guinness World Record.

That older record belonged to a tortoise named Charlie, who reached 0.125 meters per second in 1977. Bertie repeatedly beat that pace in testing, so his owners decided to see whether he could do it under official record conditions.

On July 9, 2014, Bertie covered a 5.48-meter course set at a 1:12 incline in 19.59 seconds. Guinness measured his speed at 0.28 meters per second, or 0.92 feet per second. That works out to roughly 0.62 mph and was more than twice the speed of the previous record.

Why 0.62 MPH Is Much Faster Than It Sounds

Calling 0.62 mph “fast” requires a little perspective. A person could easily walk faster than Bertie, but tortoises are built for an entirely different kind of life. They have sturdy shells, relatively short legs, and body plans that prioritize protection and endurance rather than chasing prey or sprinting away from danger.

Guinness has also documented just how slowly some tortoises can move. In one speed test, a male giant tortoise traveled only 4.57 meters, or about 15 feet, in 43.5 seconds. Guinness calculated that speed at roughly 0.23 mph. Bertie’s record pace was more than twice that fast.

Bertie Isn’t Actually From the Fastest Tortoise Species

Here’s the surprising part: Bertie is a leopard tortoise, but leopard tortoises are not generally considered the fastest tortoise species.

That distinction belongs to the pancake tortoise, according to the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Pancake tortoises have unusually thin, lightweight, flexible shells. Instead of depending entirely on a heavy domed shell for defense, they can move quickly toward narrow rocky crevices and wedge themselves inside.

Bertie’s accomplishment is therefore even more about the individual animal. He is not simply representing a naturally speedy species. He happens to be one remarkably fast leopard tortoise.

Why Most Tortoises Don’t Need to Be Fast

Speed is expensive. Animals built for sprinting need muscles, body shapes, and metabolisms capable of supplying large amounts of energy very quickly. Most tortoises have evolved a different survival strategy.

Their shells provide a major physical defense against predators, allowing many species to pull their head and limbs inward when threatened rather than trying to outrun danger. Tortoises are also ectotherms, meaning their body temperature and activity are strongly influenced by the environment around them.

Different species have taken that basic body plan in different directions. Giant tortoises are famously deliberate movers, while pancake tortoises trade some shell strength for a lighter body and greater agility. Bertie falls somewhere unexpected in between: a conventionally built tortoise that just happens to move exceptionally quickly.

More Than a Decade Later, Bertie Still Holds the Record

Bertie’s sprint took place back in 2014, but Guinness World Records still lists his 0.28-meter-per-second run as the fastest speed ever officially achieved by a tortoise.

His old record-holder rival Charlie had remained unbeaten for 37 years before Bertie came along, so there is no guarantee another speedy tortoise will take the title anytime soon.

Bertie has had plenty happen since becoming a record holder, too. Guinness reported in 2023 that he and his longtime companion, Shelly, had two offspring named Sherbert and Dip Dab. Adventure Valley still proudly advertises Bertie as its resident world-record holder today.

For now, the world’s fastest tortoise remains a leopard tortoise from northern England who proved that “slow as a tortoise” is apparently a relative term.