Most tortoise keepers would agree that healthy, well acclimated tortoises will breed on their own without resorting to unnatural and experimental methods.

In the Honolulu case it was especially dumb as the animals in question were not injured in any way that would prevent them from mating...i.e. the male missing both of his back legs or something like that. In addition, it wasn't like they were about to die of old age either--the zoo had years to work with the animals and get the husbandry/health right. Also, as many keepers have found, tortoises can reproduce just fine right up until they die of old age. Or at least close to it.

I know my friend Dick Bartlett's old female radiated, who just died recently, was producing fertile eggs until a year or two ago and she had major health issues to boot.

Dick's remaining male is as horny as ever too even after more than 52 years in captivity.

Lastly, such artificial breeding methods were only experimental back then (probably even now) and trying to figure it out on such a rare and endangered species was profoundly idiotic.

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