Tortoises’ secret for living up to 200 years

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 Thursday, March 11, 2021 - 11:06

by CATHERINE NUZA
Some might be wondering what is the spur-thighed tortoise’s secret for living 125 – 200 years? As one of the five Mediterranean tortoises it’s unfortunately still illegally sold in Spain and Morocco despite attempts to protect it. Also known as the Greek tortoise it can be easily mistaken for the hermann's tortoise, even though the spur-thighed tortoise is markedly larger. 


Reaching an average size of the females 25cm and weight of 2.5kg, the males are usually smaller. This reptile generally enjoys a very green diet of grass, cactus and weeds. To the untrained eye differentiating between the spur-thighed and the hermann’s tortoise can be difficult.

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