Tortoise Facts

Turtles and tortoises are reptiles that live inside hard, armored shells. Together with terrapins, they make up a group called the chelonians.
Turtles live in the sea, freshwater, or on land, tortoises live on land, and terrapins live in streams and lakes.
The shield on the back of a chelonian is called a carapace. Its flat belly amour is called a plastron.
Most turtles and tortoises eat plants and tiny animals. They have no teeth, just jaws with very sharp edges.
Giant tortoises were once kept on ships to provide fresh meat on long voyage.
Tortoises are very slow moving and placid.
Tortoises live mostly in hot, dry regions and will hibernate in winter if brought to a cold country.
Turtles and tortoises live to a great age. One giant tortoise found in 1766 in Mauritius lived for 152 years.
The giant tortoise can grow as long as 1.5 m.
The leatherback turtle grows to as long as 2.5 m and weighs more than 800 kg.
Every three years, green turtles gather together to swim thousands of kilometers to Ascension Island in the mid-Atlantic, where they lay their eggs ashore by moonlight at the highest tide. They bury the eggs in the sand, to be incubated by the heat of the sun.

This entry is filed under Interesting Facts.