Animale
Radiated tortoise
A Madagascan tortoise with yellow rays on its shell and a lengthy egg incubation.
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Each scute on a radiated tortoise’s shell carries yellow lines spreading from its centre. The repeated pattern creates stars against a dark background. This arrangement gives the animal its name. An adult’s shell can reach about 40 centimetres in length, and the animal can weigh around 16 kilograms.
Its natural habitat is the dry scrub and thorn forest of southwestern Madagascar. People have also introduced it to Mauritius and Réunion, but these are not its original home islands. Differences between males and females are not very obvious, although males usually have longer tails. Shell colour alone is not a straightforward guide to sex.
The female digs a hole about 15-20 centimetres deep and lays between three and twelve eggs. She then leaves them in the ground. Development takes a long time: the young hatch after five to nine months. Habitat destruction and poaching are major threats to the species. Its patterned shell protects the body, but cannot protect the animal from losing its home or being captured by people.
Per bambini
Yellow lines on this tortoise’s shell look like rays. They spread out from the centre of each scute. That is why it is called the radiated tortoise. An adult can have a shell about 40 centimetres long and weigh around 16 kilograms.
Its original home is Madagascar, where it lives in dry scrub and thorn forest. People have also taken it to Mauritius and Réunion. This shows the difference between where an animal naturally comes from and where humans have introduced it.
The female digs a hole and lays between three and twelve eggs, then leaves. The young hatch only after several months. Habitat destruction and poaching threaten these tortoises; a shell cannot protect them from either.
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Where does the radiated tortoise naturally come from?
- Posizione
- Near lemur island, area 17; outdoor display depends on conditions.