African Spurred Tortoise Black and White

It was Sunday morning and we were moving a daughter to her own home. As we carried various boxes and furniture we noticed this guy in our neighbor's... more

by Karen Adams

Title

African Spurred Tortoise Black and White

Artist

Karen Adams

Medium

Photograph - Fine Art Digital Prints - Photography

Description

It was Sunday morning and we were moving a daughter to her own home. As we carried various boxes and furniture we noticed this guy in our neighbor's driveway. When everything was loaded up, I felt that I could go over and take a quick picture without feeling too guilty. By then, he had moved into the grass and just stopped to rest . . . I guess we were all tired from our morning's exertions.

A few days later, I was able to look at the shots I'd gotten and look online to try to find out what kind of turtle this was. We frequently have Painted turtles from the creek out back, but never one that looked like this. I first researched turtles of Ohio, and found nothing even remotely similar. I finally found an image of an African Spurred Tortoise and realized that was it! Unfortunately, this made me also realize that I should have picked this guy up and tried to care for him!

The African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata) is a desert dwelling creature. This tortoise is found along the southern edge of the Sahara, from Senegal and Mauritania, east through Mali, Chad, the Sudan and Ethiopia to Eritrea, and may also be found in Niger and Somalia. Centrochelys sulcata is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world after the Galapagos tortoise, and Aldabra giant tortoise, and the largest of the mainland tortoises! Adults can reach 33 in and can weigh 231 lb! They grow from hatchling size (2-3 in) very quickly, reaching 6-10 in (15-25 cm) within the first few years of their lives. The lifespan of an African spurred tortoise is about 50-150 years. This one must have been about 1-2 years old since his shell was about 10" long.


This tortoise is well camouflaged by its overall sandy coloration and has thick golden to yellow-brown skin and a brownish carapace. The African spurred tortoise has a broad, oval carapace which displays prominent serrations at the front and back margins and conspicuous growth rings on each scute, which become particularly marked with age.

But how did this guy end up on a driveway in Ohio? Due to their reputation for having a pleasant temperament, sulcata tortoises are sometimes kept as pets. Although they do present significant challenges such as requiring large enclosures and temperatures above 60� F. . . . . and so that brings me back to my feelings of regret that I didn't pick him up.

I wonder if someone is heartsick at losing him . . . or did they tire of him as a pet and release him in the wild of our wetlands . . . . where he unfortunately is not equipped to survive. I hope someone found him and rescued him and that he is well somewhere and being cared for!

++++++++++++to my great relief, I was able to track down the owner (the wonders of Facebook) and was happy to find out that they did find their pet a few days later. He was quite a distance from home! His name is SPIKE!+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This is a black and white image of an African Spurred Tortoise. A color version is also available in my Series Gallery.

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Uploaded

October 19th, 2016