ANIMAL SPOTLIGHT
EGYPTIAN TORTOISE (Testudo kleinmanni)
E
very now and then, the world’s tiniest creatures show us they have something big to teach us, if we’re willing to listen. Such is the case for our next Spotlight animal. The critically endangered Egyptian tortoise, one of the world’s smallest tortoises, faces intense pressure in the wild. They’re native to the desert bordering the Mediterranean Sea and were once found in Libya, Egypt and Israel. Now, they’re isolated to small patches of territory in Libya and are considered extinct in the rest of their territory. Habitat destruction and
human encroachment, including the illegal pet trade, are to blame. But there is hope, in the form of tiny hatchlings that weigh about as much as a couple nickels. Woodland Park Zoo is proud to be a leader in the successful breeding and rearing of Egyptian tortoises. We work under the direction of the Species Survival Plan (known as the SSP)—a cooperative conservation breeding program overseen by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums to help ensure healthy, self-sustaining populations in North America. More than 90 of these tiny treasures have successfully hatched at our zoo since the very first one emerged from its shell here in 2004. Unlike many turtles and tortoises, which are various shades of green, the Egyptian tortoise has a sand or brownishcolored shell. It’s a great adaptation to help them blend in with their native desert habitat. When they hatch, these babies are tiny, weighing only 10 grams. That’s not even half an ounce! Even full grown, Egyptian tortoises are small, with adults rarely getting more than 4 to 4.5 inches long from the front edge of the shell to the back—and the females tend to be bigger than the males. Not much is known about the diet of the few individuals left in the wild, but here at Woodland Park Zoo our tortoises— we currently have 21 in our care, ranging in age from a few months to 47 years old—feast on a healthy, custom-made salad that includes nutritious ingredients like romaine, kale, celery, carrots and yam.
Click image to watch tiny hatchlings
26 MYZOO Member Magazine | Fall 2020 | zoo.org
Our Egyptian tortoises live in several areas around the zoo, including the Adaptations Building on the zoo’s east side. If you’re visiting, you can find one group of them there living
