This morning I went out to clean the giant tortoise yard. The tortoises must have wanted a lazy morning, because not even Othello came over to say hi. I worked on collecting other salad bowls, cleaned the black worms and did the dishes before the morning break! Today my family was at the zoo, so I was able to show them around a little and let them see more of what goes on during my internship. It was fun being a tour guide for them! I had a little time before lunch to prepare one of the new black tubs for a Northern Spider Tortoise exhibit. The Northern Spider Tortoise, Pyxis arachnoides brygooi, is native to Madagascar and is one of the three subspecies of Spider Tortoises: common Spider Tortoise (P. a. arachnoides), Northern Spider Tortoise (P. a. brygooi), and the Southern Spider Tortoise (P. a. oblonga). Out of the three subspecies, P. a. brygooi is the most rare due to the collection for the food and pet trade. Originally, native tribes collected the Radiated Tortoise, Astrocheys radiata, for food, but now since that tortoise population is dwindling, native tribes are turning to spider tortoises. The range of P. a. brygooi has been found to be much smaller than was expected according to a field study in 2009 led by Ryan CJ Walker. Conservation projects are being set in place to preserve the P. a. brygooi subspecies. Our zoo has had a successful breeding program of these tortoises for a few years now. A fun fact about these tortoises: they have a unique carapace (upper shell) design, so you can clearly identify them with just a picture.
After lunch, I finished setting up the spider tortoise tubs as well as an Egyptian Tortoise tub. After identifying the tortoises, we let them soak while finishing the new set up of their enclosures. We added new hide boxes and let the tortoises back in. The Egyptian Tortoise seemed to thoroughly enjoy his new space, but the spider tortoises seemed a little more confused on what just happened. After a little bit, they too started exploring and getting used to their new space. After break, the zookeeper and I started on a project of moving the Spotted Turtle, Clemmys guttata, around so they are more visible. The Turtle Survival Alliance is having their 11th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles this upcoming week which includes a tour of the herpetarium. Hence why there have been so many turtle and tortoise projects lately (which, of course, I love helping with)! In order to get the Spotted Turtles set up, we had to move one of the Arakan Forest Turtles, Heosemys depressa, downstairs. We moved the tanks around but will have to set up new pluming in order to drain the tanks. The zookeeper and I talked about the conference at the end of the day and I am so excited to go! Stay tuned this upcoming week for conference updates instead of a 'today at the zoo' blog!
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| Northern Spider Tortoise |
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| Egyptian Tortoise |
My facts about the spider tortoises came from the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) 2009 magazine. (Which, if you like turtles and tortoises, I highly recommending finding some of these magazines to read. They are very informative!)
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