Leopard tortoise

Leopard Tortoise

Geochelone pardalis

The leopard tortoise is starting to show face again as the summer is bringing a rise in temperature, allowing for early morning sun basking.

This tortoise, known by safari-goers as one of the little 5, is South Africa’s most common and well distributed tortoises. They weigh around 1kg when they are 7 years old and then the body weight doubles every second year thereafter until the end of their lifespan which is about 75 years.

In this interpretation we discussed the importance of refraining from picking up tortoises.

Tortoises have adapted to survive extensive dry periods through the use of their enlarged bladder. When tortoises urinate, it has a high concentration of uric acid, allowing the tortoises to reabsorb the diluted urine left behind in the bladder. In adition to the economic use of water sources, the diluted urine is also used in periods of drought to soften soil before laying eggs.

When this species feels threatened it reacts by releasing all the water from the bladder [/bursa sac]. Hence, we refrain from putting the tortoise in this position. Next time your faced with a tortoise crossing the road you can react by rather giving it space, or giving it a gentle tickle on the shell to speed up its journey.