Thanks for clearing that up.
I was starting to wonder.
I really haven’t seen a turtle with that kind of reddish/orange hue before.
Great looking leatherback.
Thanks for clearing that up.
I was starting to wonder.
I really haven’t seen a turtle with that kind of reddish/orange hue before.
Great looking leatherback.
How old they must get in order to reach that size?
@Grasshopper
I don’t know but @AML might know much better.
I have heard they are estimated to live up to around 80+ years and can weigh up to around 1000 kg. They grow to over 2 metres long.
The Leatherbacks are the largest turtles on Earth.
Wikipedia says “Very little is known of the species’ lifespan. Some reports claim “30 years or more”, while others state “50 years or more”. Upper estimates exceed 100 years.”
That said, seeing where they start, this one seems like it’s been around a while.
This is the best thread.
I used to have an Indian star tortoise, my dad named him/her Angela. No clue if Angela was actually a girl.
We had to give her away when we moved because we wouldn’t have a garden for her to live in at the new place.
My daughter found a box turtle in our back yard. We cared for it for a while and then took it to a nearby stream and released it.
Several years later she found a baby (snapping?) turtle while we were hiking. She is quite the turtle whisperer!
There is quite a lot info about leatherback turtles coming up when googling “Leatherbacks Gabon”.
By the way I found a new plant species over there (Mayumba) too.
Honesty oblige to underline that this species existed already a couple of millions of years before I found it.
I wanna do your work
Thank you for starting one of the most peaceful topics in this community
We only have Long Necked turtles that are indigenous and found in in some of the lakes here around Perth.
Each year the females leave the lakes and ponds and lay their eggs in holes they dig in the sandy surroundings and gardens They did this in a beautiful place called Hyde Park across the road from where I lived as a child which has two lakes with many of these beautiful creatures.
I used to rescue some of the baby ones from the road when I was young and release them back into the lakes, and occasionally we some we kept at home for a short time.
I have fond memories of them and those times spent playing with and enjoying watching them.
This one is racing the local rabbit around the block. Lol!
They can move quite fast compared to many other turtles.
When I was a child I was reliably informed by our local Flat Earth Master that these are the actual breed that won the original legendary Rabbit and Turtle race in times gone by.
Fortunately for me the pic above was my one and only chance in life observe that fact.
The rabbit was so far back and way behind that we couldn’t get it in the same photo even with my wide angle Summicron M 28mm F2 lens.
BTW his name is Gonzales - we just call him Speedy.
This is a baby.
As can be clearly seen it too is starting it’s training for racing at a very young age.
Smug face.
So, I’m curious… where does she sleep? Do you have a turtle bed for her? Can we have pictures of said turtle bed? I have this adorable image of a little turtle paradise in your house set up for Beijing!
Also, thank you for all the turtles!
It looks as if its head goes faster than his body (normal behaviour for well trained professionals close to the finish line).
Not a turtle. but a pet.
Adorable, but not turtle related.
Don’t go off topic or Justin will be pissed.
I check the screen twice, the neck is so long… I can’t believe… Is it called Brachiosaurus Chelonia Altithorax?
It was finally only correctly named in 2010 as Chelodina (Macrodiremys) colliei
Previously thought to be a Chelodina oblonga and had earlier been misidentified since 1841 as the same species as the Northern western Australia turtle of this name.
They have been successfully bred in captivity in the Cologne Zoological Gardens. Germany.
Brachiosaurus is, being a Dinosaur, a tad bigger than the speedy gonzales pictured.
It has more teeth too, mostly used to eat ‘faulty name’ throwers.
The Brachiosaurus is actually now making it’s way and heading to Thailand where there are still some known faulty name throwers living around Bangkok.
In fact one was last seen on September 16 at the Greyhound Cafe Mega Bangna trying to eat mini copies of the Brachiosaurus babies.