Tortoise with character

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Tortoise with character

Postby armata » Mon Aug 25, 2008 6:27 pm

I see this guy almost every time I walk a certain piece of veld nr my home - Leopard ot Mountain tortoise (Stigmachelus pardalis). He's about 60cm in length.
He never tucks his head away but is always curious to see me and will crane his head up for a better look. Quite a character, but arn't they all?

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armata
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby Mongoose » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:13 pm

60cm is quite large. . Have seen a very few that size. Watching tortoises mare is quite something too!!
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby armata » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:26 pm

Yes, you're right goose, they actually do 'bonk'. Its great to go out for a short walk and have the potential to see five different species; see three quite often. The W.Cape is quite special when it comes to tortoises.
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby armata » Mon Aug 25, 2008 10:43 pm

This female common padloper (Homopus areolotus) was just a few feet away from the big guy. But she wouldn't come out to play.

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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby jka » Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:17 pm

The padlopers are always a nice find. How often do you get padlopers (parrot beak & karoo).
The angulated tortoises never seem to sit still always dashing off they can vanish quickly if you don't pay attention.
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby armata » Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:28 pm

I get three species just about every time I go there jka you'll know the place up by the police doggie centre. Find karoo padlopers less often than you would think and still looking for tent tortoise in that area, although seen them elswhere around Oudtshoorn.
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby Bushviper » Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:23 am

I have some huge tortoises that sleep with their heads out lying on the ground. The first time I saw that I thought she had died. It is a complete contrast to what one would expect.
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby jka » Tue Aug 26, 2008 8:30 pm

I have heard of someone that has seen a tent tortoise their but It sounded more like a small Leopard tortoise to me, I showed him a shell of one that someone gave me (not sure about the locality) but he said the scutes wasn't as pointy.
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby Mongoose » Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:52 am

I love photographing tortoises from a very low angle with a wide angle lens. Just have dirt on my sensor now that nasty and frustrating! Gotta make a plan and get it clean.

I found occulifer just a few meters away from pardalis. I now wonder if they perhaps follow them and eat there droppings? I don't think it could be very nutritional though, although occulifer eat the more old dead leaves than the fresh good ones. Perhaps they don't need a high nutritional diet. Toby Koswick did a talk at a symposium at MMK (McGregor museum Kimberley) on sexual dimporphism in Psammobates. Wonder if any one has done work on the nutritional values.
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Re: Tortoise with character

Postby armata » Wed Aug 27, 2008 11:08 am

I watched an angulate at dehoop a while back; it was amongst some nice greenery but was chowing dry grass stems.
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