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TEAM TALK
The Cutting Edge
By Mariette
NO MOUNTAIN TOO BIG FOR THESE LITTLE LEOPARDS
Six newly hatched little Mountain Leopard tortoises
(Stigmochelys pardalis) made their way to Bayworld on 30
April 2017. These babies hatched in the garden of a mem-
ber of public.
Stigmochelys is a combination of the Greek words stigma,
meaning “marked” and chelone meaning “tortoise”. The
word pardalis is derived from the Latin name and means
“spotted”. Hence the name Mountain Leopard tortoise –
the marked, spotted tortoise, which is evident when looking
at the shell of this beautiful animal.
Mountain Leopard tortoises are the largest species of tor-
toise found in South Africa. These hardy animals can reach
an age of 30 up to 75 years in captivity. In their natural environment they can
even reach an age of up to 100 years! Even though their weight
and size is determined by their geographical location, they can
weigh in at an impressive 40 kg once fully grown. Difficult to
believe when looking at a hatchling weighing in at a mere 25
grams!
Unfortunately these magnificent animals face many enemies
and adversities throughout their lives. Eggs and hatchlings are
predated upon and many tortoises are killed by veldt fires.
Even up until this day and age, tortoises and eggs still are a
delicatessen, eaten by man in some areas. Their natural habitat
also comes with certain risk factors, such as cracked shells caused by falling from rocky areas.
These animals play an important role in seed dispersing due to the large
variety and quantities of plant material they ingest. Their faecal matter
contains seeds, which then germinate. When feeding, they use their beak
to consume their food (they don’t have any teeth). In nature they will
even gnaw on bones and/or consume faeces passed by carnivorous ani-
mals. This helps them to obtain much needed calcium to ensure maxi-
mum shell growth and eggshell development. Even though the food they
consume does contain moisture,
they will readily drink water when
available. Make sure not to pick up
any tortoises as they utilise the
water stored in times of not having access to water. Handling an
animal and making it pass urine will result in loss of water and can
even cause the animal to die due to dehydration.
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