Tortoise asks his mate for a piggyback ride

6 years ago
10

Recently while visiting the local aquarium, our videographer happened to stumble upon these two lovebirds. Feeling this is quite a rare experience to see he started to record these red-footed tortoise. The red-footed tortoise is a species of tortoises from northern South America. These medium-sized tortoises generally average 30 cm (12 in) as adults, but can reach over 40 cm (16 in). They have dark-colored, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell) with a lighter patch in the middle of each scute (scales on the shell), and dark limbs with brightly colored scales that range from pale yellow to dark red. Recognized differences are seen between red-footed tortoises from different regions. They are closely related to the yellow-footed tortoise from the Amazon Basin. They are popularly kept as pets, and over-collection has caused them to be vulnerable to extinction.
Their natural habitat ranges from savannah to forest edges around the Amazon Basin. They are also found on several Caribbean Islands, although it is not always clear if they are native or brought by humans. These little guys are omnivorous with a diet based on a wide assortment of plants, mostly fruit when available, but also including grasses, flowers, fungi, carrion, and invertebrates. They do not brumate, but may aestivate in hot, dry weather. Eggs, hatchlings, and young tortoises are food for many predators, but the main threats for adults are jaguars and humans. Population density ranges from locally common to very scarce due in part to habitat destruction and over-collection for food and the pet trade.The head is relatively small with a squared-off profile and flat on top, longer than it is wide. The eye is large with a black iris, and rarely any sclera visible around it. The upper jaw is slightly hooked, and the upper jaw is notched in the front middle. About 15 to 20 'teeth' or fine grooves occur on each side of each jaw. As hatchlings and young tortoises they have many predators such as large lizards, snakes, predatory birds, cats, foxes and feral dogs. Other than humans, the main predators of the adult tortoises are jaguars.

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