The Tortoise

The Tortoise belongs to the Chelonian family as the third member after the turtles and the terrapins. They could be the longest living reptiles in the world and have lived for more than two hundred years having the least evolved traits since then. Their life spans are between fifty to a hundred and fifty years with the oldest one known to live to up to a startling one hundred and fifty two years.
They are cold blooded reptiles and keep warm by absorbing the atmospheres heat. There are about forty types of tortoise species including Yellow tortoise (found in South America), Star tortoise (India), Common Long Neck tortoise (Australia), Kreffts tortoise, Macquarie tortoise among many other species. The largest species of tortoises are found on the Islands of the Pacific Ocean with the Galapagos tortoise being the largest managing to grow at 4.5 feet in length. The smallest on the other hand manage a mere size of one foot.
Most of their species live on land with a few preferring to live in fresh water lakes. A few are even found in desert environs, lakes, lagoons and swamps. In some countries they are kept as pets since they don’t require huge tracts of lands as their habitat or homeland. Their diet includes fruits and shrubs as well as foods rich in Calcium to build their bones just like human beings. Their shell has up to sixty different bones joined together thus explaining the reason why they need a lot of calcium rich foods. The incubation period for eggs is between three to four months and stay on the ground for two months burrowing into the ground. This is in contrast to the turtle hatchlings who immediately head for the water after hatching from their eggs.
Their major prey is the leopard and the Jaguar in the U.S islands which is also skilled in knowing how to scoop the creature from its shell, skillfully scooping the contents and swallowing it hole.. The Pancake Tortoise has a soft shell that allows it to deflate when penetrating through small holes in the rocks. Their prey eventually gets tired of stalking them and trying to hunt them from in between the holes.
These animals have been known to be used in many folk tales and traditional stories as being seen as the wise one because perhaps mostly because of their slow nature and their peaceful personalities. They are known to have good eyesight, a wonderful sense of smell and also quick to the sense of touch which makes it hard for them to be hunted down by their enemies. Maybe that is one of the reasons why they are known to be one of the wisest animals alive. There is not much written data however, on their I.Q levels or even regarding their brain size, brain power and giftedness, to prove these tortoise stereotypes that many of these societies have held since time immemorial. Perhaps there is some unwritten truth regarding these stereotypes.

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