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• Madagascar Radiated Tortoise

Scientific Name: Geochelone radiata

In general, tortoises are able to live for a relatively long time (this species can live 100 or more years) because they move and eat slowly, which conserves energy, and their internal organs do not age along with the rest of their bodies, as is the case with humans and most other animals. One radiated tortoise was thought to have lived 150 years in captivity.

STATUS: Critically Endangered. Radiated tortoises are native to a very small area, and that area is steadily decreasing as people try to cultivate the land for farming, lumber, and other industries. They are increasingly hit by moving vehicles as they try to cross newly-built roads, and illegally hunted for bushmeat or to smuggle out of the country and sell as pets. Often adult females are killed for their eggs that are considered a delicacy in some cultures. The Madagascan government has placed them under protection, but this has not completely eliminated the poaching.

HABITAT: This species occurs naturally in the southern and southwestern dry forests of the island of Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa. They mostly stay in the forested areas where graze is more substantial.

DIET: Tortoises eat grass, fruit, and other types of leafy green plants. They rarely need to drink water because the food they eat has so much moisture in it already.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The Madagascar radiated tortoise is the largest of the “starred” tortoises, which is a name given to those species whose carapace features lightly-colored lines radiating from a central point in each shell plate. Of these star-patterned tortoises, this species is the largest, reaching up to 15 inches and 30 pounds, and the most intricately and beautifully patterned. Each carapace plate is smooth, although the shell as a whole is dome-shaped. The head and feet are yellow, and the top of each tortoise’s head has a black spot that varies in size and shape. Males have longer tails than females.

Baby Tortoises

Each year, females lay a clutch of 5-12 eggs around September. The juveniles are about an inch and a half long when they hatch, and won’t be considered mature until they reach 12 inches. The babies hatch out with a yellow and black spotted shell that slowly develops the beautiful radiating pattern as they grow larger.