Monday, July 11, 2022

I think there is a problem with this video. It appears to have an endangered tortoise.

That appears to be a Centrochelys sulcata species. It strongly resembles the African Spurred Turtle. It looks like it is a younger turtle so the plates of the shell may be slightly different in configuration.


The caretaker obviously loves the tortoise, but, if this is the one I believe it is, owning one is not legal. I do not believe the tortoise is mistreated in any way, except, as an endangered species it is not contributing to increases in the numbers and the genetic diversity. The tortoise needs to be transported to a protected zoo and evaluated. It needs to be placed with other tortoises of the same species. It will be happier there than having a dog as a sibling.

I'd be very interested in knowing where they bought it. It is not legal to sell endangered species.