Tortoise engages scientist in slow-speed pursuit after having love session rudely interrupted

An explorer in the Seychelles who interrupted a tortoise love session has been filmed in one of the slowest pursuits ever caught on camera.

The hilarious scene was captured when National Geographic scientific expedition leader Paul Rose stumbled upon a pair of Aldabra giant tortoises in the act of mating.

The Aldabra are one of the biggest species of giant tortoises in the world, weighing about 250kg on average.

Rose was exploring Assumption Island, one of the most uninhabited parts of the Seychelles archipelago, when he went to investigate loud "blowing" and "huffing" noises coming nearby bushes.

After discovering the frisky pair enjoying their time together, Rose and his producer Neil Galinas decided to set up a camera to film the intimate encounter.

But the male tortoise didn't appreciate his privacy being so thoughtlessly invaded, so he set about trying to run down the insensitive interloper.

What followed was a determined but incredibly slow pursuit as the giant creature covered some 400-metres in an attempt to catch Rose.

"This is the male saying 'hey I think you've interrupted my mating session'," Rose narrates to the camera.

The explorer slowly inches backwards as the camera lens trains itself on the increasingly miffed expression on the tortoises face.

When Rose finally decides to show the lumbering animal his "finishing sprint" the tortoise realises he's met his match and heads off in the other direction.