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Please can someone help ID this type of tortoise it's not a Leopard Tortoise. I'm presuming that its a hinged tortoise but I'd like to know which one. This specimen was seen in the south of the Kruger National Park

no picture mate

pic up

According to my book it looks like a female Natal Hinged Tortoise but she's far away from home if I'm right...normally found in the Transvaal and Natal Lowlands normally between 300m and 1000m altitude

Hi Wholt,
Welcome to the forum! Hope you'll be spending many happy hours here!

Here are a few comparisons:

http://www.google.com/images?q=Natal+Hi ... en___US235

Don't think anyone would question Natal Hinged.

Daan

Not a tortoise expert ...

Firstly, you are correct that it is a hinged tortoise.

OK, you get two types of hinged tortoise that occur in the area of the Southern KNP.

The first is the Natal hinged tortoise. This is not a common tortoise, and has a poorly developed hinge. It is also the smallest of the hinged tortoises.

The second is the Speke's hinged tortoise. This is the most commonly found one in the KNP. It has a well developed hinge, has smooth marginals and is a medium sized animal.

My gut feeling is telling me that this is a Speke's. I base it on the fact that this animal has clearly a well developed hinge. Size is difficult to judge from the photo. Also the smooth marginals.

Again ... no expert on this.

It's a funny little thing...to me it's like a mix of Speke's and Natal...skin colour is also very dark for either of the species...shell shape is Natal but colour is similar to Speke's...bit of a puzzler.

Must be a tortoise expert out there somewhere

There are many animals in which colour is not a good indication of species. This include many of your reptiles. Colours fade with age and vary considerably within species.

In terms of size this specimen was around 30cm in length

Then it is a Speke's. The Natal HT will only reach approx. half that length.

Hi. Can someone please help ID this fellow.
large

We are needing it for a Trip Report

Where did you see it?

Size approx.?

Thanks for the reply. We saw it in KNP on the H7 at about 9:30AM. It's size was about 15 - 20 cm in length.

That would be a young Leopard tortoise.

Leopard tortoises eat grass and annuals, according to availability. They will also gnaw on bones and eat hyena feces to gain calcium. They are able to swim and will readily take to water. They have a home territory to which they will return from as far as 50 km if removed.

They are often seen on the roads after good rains where they come to drink water. Tortoises should not be picked up or removed form the bush.