Giants Hatch in the Lake District. Lake District Wildlife Park are celebrating the birth of four sulcata tortoises, a first for the park. Since arriving at the park in 2004, the park’s female ‘Margaret’ has laid 15 eggs with four recently hatching. The sulcata tortoise is the third largest tortoise in the world and the largest tortoise species not to be found on an island. Dan Kane, Reptile Keeper said: “There were several layers of shell around the first batch of eggs, which means Margaret has kept hold of them for 2 – 3 years until she felt conditions were right. The warm summer this year seems to be the main reason for her to finally lay the eggs. The African spurred tortoise is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List with populations declining rapidly due to habitat loss, particularly in Mali, Chad, Niger and Ethiopia, largely as a result of urbanisation and overgrazing by livestock Dan Kane also commented: “One of the reasons this species is now classed as ‘vulnerable’ in the wild is because of the illegal collection for the pet trade. We would urge anyone thinking of taking on these prehistoric beasts to think carefully – they keep growing, need a lot of space and must have their temperature controlled properly because they can’t regulate their own body temperature. Photo Credits: Lake District Wildlife Park
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 08:00:00 +0000
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