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Radiated Tortoise, Palmarium, Madagascar
When you travel through Madagascar, it seems almost any reserve, hotel or accomodation is keeping these beautiful tortoises as pets. Same here in Palmarium.
Their conservation status in the wild is depressing though. Originally they only occur in the far south of Madagascar where they are massively poached and captured for the illegal pet trade. Without some private reserves there, they'd likely go extinct in the wild, or are already close to that. They're simply too easy of a prey in Madagascar's dire economic conditions.
I hope you do appreciate the tiny baby tortoise, even if born in captivity. It was born in rage, this species is known for the very noisy mating ritual. We once were "fortunate" to see it with our own eyes:
The radiated tortoise is a species in the family Testudinidae. Although this species is native to and most abundant in southern Madagascar, it can be also be found in the rest of this island, and has been introduced to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius. As the radiated tortoises are herbivores, grazing constitutes 80-90% of their diet, while they also eat fruits and succulent plants.
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