A couple of tortoises at Taipei Zoo have made international headlines – after footage of one of them helping the other back on its feet went viral.

A video of the stranded tortoise on its back, being tipped over by another one, attracted 1.51 million hits on YouTube and drew the attention of ABC News after it was posted by Audi Yu on Nov. 25.

Posted under the title “Amazing!!! The tortoise turning over, smart companion has saved it…”, the video shows a tortoise using its head to nudge the other one until it flips onto its feet, to cheers and applause from a crowd of spectators.

Yu said he noticed the tortoises while he was accompanying his daughter on a school field trip to Taipei Zoo and he shot the video to show her that helping others is the key to happiness.

A Taipei zoo official say the video looks like it was shot at an outdoor enclosure near where the African lions are housed, and keepers often have to help those tortoises get back on their feet.

The official says that this week, the zoo’s tortoises will be on display in the temperature-controlled reptile hall because of the cold spell that is gripping Taipei.

closeup photo source