When you hear the signature roars of Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion — the three key dragon cast members in “Game of Thrones” — tortoise sex is probably the furthest thing from your mind.
And yet, according to series sound designer Paula Fairfield, the mating cries of giant tortoises are among the many sound samples she used to give the show’s great winged beasts a voice.
In a 2017 , Fairfield explained how she crafted the sounds of the dragons moving, roaring and communicating with other characters by mashing up various animal noises, including screeching birds and reptiles, fluttering dragonfly wings and even her own dog’s nasal whistles.
Listen closely to the way Drogon purrs in the company of his friends, and you may even hear a sound you’ll wish you hadn’t — the mating moan of a giant male tortoise.
The males, especially, are loud; Their mating groans can rattle on for 10 or 20 minutes, and can carry for miles around, James Gibbs, a conservation biologist at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York, previously told Live Science.
It’s uncomfortable and a little funny to watch if you’re deathly curious), but a giant tortoise would probably say the same about your mating rituals.
