Giant tortoise mystery: how did seven protected reptiles end up dead in Devon woods?

Ashclyst Forest, where the remains of seven giant tortoises were found this month. Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

It was as unlikely a crime scene as one could imagine. The remains of seven giant tortoises scattered across a remote woodland in Devon, their helpless bodies abandoned in the understory.

The grisly discovery earlier this month has left police, local people and herpetologists baffled as to who dumped the reptiles and why.