Leopard tortoise
Stigmochelys pardalis
— Where the name comes from
Stigmochelys is “branded turtle”, from stígma, the mark burned in; pardalis is the leopard. The shell of the young is covered in black blotches on yellow that recall the cat’s coat and that darken in adults until they almost vanish: the name describes the animal as a youngster, not as a grown-up.
— Facts
- Group
- Reptiles · Reptilia
- Order
- Turtles and tortoises
- Habitat
- Arid savannah, thorn grassland, semi-desert bush
- Range
- Eastern and southern Africa, from Sudan to South Africa
- Size
- 40–70 cm of carapace, 13–40 kg
- Diet
- Tough grasses, succulents, fallen fruit, gnawed bones
- Lifespan
- 80–100 years
— Characteristics
- 01
It is the only African tortoise that can swim well.
- 02
It gnaws bones and snail shells to get calcium.
- 03
It digs no burrow: it shelters under bushes or in other animals’ holes.
— What sets it apart
The domed, hingeless shell leaves enough air inside to make it buoyant and stable, and unlike its relatives it can swim with its head up: it crosses rivers and ponds that are impassable barriers to other African tortoises. In South African parks it is one of the “little five”, the joking list — elephant shrew, rhinoceros beetle, buffalo weaver, leopard tortoise and antlion — invented for tourists who had already seen the big ones.
