February 2010
Baby Pancake Tortoise Arrives Just in Time for Shrove Tuesday!
-th.jpg) |
The baby pancake Tortoise, Kwanza with dad, Jua |
 |
|
Keepers at Longleat’s Animal Adventure are celebrating the birth of their first ever Pancake Tortoise. Kwanza which means ‘the first’ in Swahili hatched just days ago following an incubation period of around 3 months and ironically, just in time for Shrove Tuesday!
Keeper Jo Hawthorn confirmed “The birth of Kwanza is a first for Longleat and one of which we are really proud. Pancake tortoises are classed as vulnerable in the wild. Kwanza with the other animals in Animal Adventure will give us a real opportunity to discuss issues such as conservation, animal welfare, predation and many other issues with the hundreds of thousands of visitors who walk through our doors each year.
“The Pancake Tortoise is a wonderful example of how an animal has adapted to its surroundings. As compared to its tortoise relatives, it really is as ‘flat as a pancake’. It can squeeze into the smallest of rocky nooks and crannies to hide away from predators helped by both its shape plus its flexible shell
|
Kwanza weighs 15 grams and is only 4cm long! |
|
|
which enables it to be squished in.
“We’re unsure at present whether Kwanza is male or female as you can’t really sex a tortoise until they’re much older. We’re hoping however that he/she will be a really valuable addition to Animal Adventure and can’t wait to start showing him off as soon as he’s old enough”!
Pancake Tortoises occur in the wild on rocky outcrops known as kopjes in parts of Kenya and Tanzania. They are excellent climbers and make their homes in rocky crevices.
|
 |
BBC
Animal Park
.jpg)
.jpg)
-th.jpg)
