African spurred tortoise

Testudo sulcata

It belongs to the family of land tortoises and lives in small groups. After the Galápagos and Seychelles giant tortoise, the spur-thighed tortoise is the third-largest land tortoise.

It received its German name due to the two distinctive spurs on its hind legs. The front ones are particularly well-suited for digging. In self-dug caves up to 3 meters deep and 9 meters long, the spur-thighed tortoise escapes the heat and the cool nights.

The large eggs as big as a ping-pong ball are laid 2–6 times a year in clutches of 10–20 eggs.

The incubation temperature of 27-31 degrees Celsius determines whether male or female young hatch from the eggs. At higher temperatures, there are more females, and at lower temperatures, there are more males.