Elizabeth & Fredy,
the largest African tortoises

They come from Africa, from the region of Sahel, which includes a part of savannahs and steppes throughout the continent, from the west to the east, including the Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia. They inhabit sandy areas where in spite of their size, they blend pretty well, thanks to their coloration.

The African spurred tortoise is the largest African tortoise. They got their name because of the spurs on their thighs. They have a yellow-sandy colour for a perfect camouflage and a distinct pattern on the edge of their shell. They grow into the size of 60-80 cm and weight up to 50 kg and the males tend to be bigger.

Males are larger, have a long tail and the plastron (armor on the abdominal part of the body) are slightly bent inwards, which serves to better adhere to the female during mating.
Females are wider, the plastron is not arched and the tail is short.
Males tend to be very aggressive (they fight each other) and they can travel up to 20 km behind the female.
Turtles have highly developed sensory organs: smell, sight (sharp, but they prefer to follow the smell at close range), have a good memory and orientation and are silent.
In Asia, they sensed and respected turtles. They predicted from the armor how long a person will live or how much happiness he will have in life.