Turtles & Tortoise Identification

[Lisbeth]

Wow! is he/she pretty

Is it a tent Tortoise?

[okie]

Lisbeth , no , you are thinking of Psammobates tentorius tentorius , which looks somewhat similar . Their shields on the carapace are raised , looking like tents . There are 3 subspecies - Afrikaans - Knoppiesdop skilpadLiterally translated as Knobshell tortoise .

This is Psammobates geometricus - geometric tortoise - Afrikaans - suurpootjie ( sourfoot ) . It is the only endemic tortoise in the winterrainfall areas in the South Western Cape , restricted to low-lying areas of the Swartland , Breede Valley , and Ceres .
It is the only tortoise for which there are sanctuaries , specifically founded for them , the first one was in Paarl area , set aside on private land around 1972 . Another important sanctuary is in the Elandsberg area . There is also a very small sanctuary ( about 8 or 10 hectares ) , run by students of University of Cape Town , near me . ( And they are very very secretive about it too - nobody allowed ) .

[Lisbeth]

In fact I thought that it could not be Can you keep it there until February, please

[ExFmem]

Beautiful indeed!

[okie]

In fact I thought that it could not be Can you keep it there until February, please

Hmmmmm ... maybe

[nan]

what a beauty

[Flutterby]

Beautiful!! Well done okie!

[Mel]

Beautiful indeed! Such a pity that it is so seriously endangered though.

[GlosterBirder]

Struggling with this turtle from Hluhluwe iMfolozi Park, Mpembheni, KZN, South Africa. I know there are only 2 or 3 choices but would appreciate a casting vote.

[Klipspringer]

Pelusios sinuatus Serrated hinged terrapin


GB

Did you have an exciting birding trip to KZN? Any highlights?