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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
I'm very happy to have been able to see this emblematic species in the wild! Picture would be better but it's rather difficult to do a photograph of this animal. In fact, it starts very quickly (but not as a rabbit of course) after coming out of its 'carapace' (don't konw the name in English language). And in these difficult conditions of light (under Quercus ruber or also Pinus), it is difficult to freeze the movement perfectly.
NB. I used a silver reflector in the right side of the animal.
Hope u like it!
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La Tortue d'Hermann in French
Hermann's Tortoise in English
This turtoise is one of seven tortoise species in the genus Testudo, along with the Marginated Tortoise (T. marginata) and the Greek Tortoise (T. graeca). Two subspecies are known: the Western Hermann's Tortoise (T.h. hermanni) and the Eastern Hermann's Tortoise (T.h. boettgeri).
*Age
Tortoises are particularly long-lived animals, which are presumed to live as long as 45-50 years. One theory to explain the lifespans of various animals is that the efficiency in use of energy determines the length of life. The required amount of energy for humans and animals per gram of body weight is the same. If the total amount of energy is used up, disturbances begin, which lead to death by old age. Many animals are very wasteful in their use of energy, and use up their quota very rapidy, so that they die after a short life. Hermann's Tortoise, on the other hand, lives a very slow and leisurely life, and when the temperature sinks in the night or in bad weather, its activity level (and energy use) falls practically to nil. Thus they live about five times longer than a comparably-sized mammal.
*Size
The eastern subspecies is much larger than the western, reaching sizes up to 28 cm (11 inches) in length. A specimen of this size may weigh 3-4 kg (6-9 lb). Testudo hermanni hermanni rarely grow larger than 18 cm (7.5 inches). Some adult specimens are as small as 7 cm (3 inches).
*Range
Testudo hermanni can be found throughout southern Europe. The western subspecies (T. hermanni hermanni) is found in eastern Spain, southern France, the Baleares islands, Corsica, Sardinia, and central Italy (Tuscany). The eastern subspecies (T. hermanni boettgeri) is found in Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece.
*Life in the wild
Early in the morning, the animals leave their nightly shelters, which are usually hollows protected by thick bushes or hedges, to bask in the sun and warm their bodies. They then roam about the Mediterranean meadows of their habitat in search of food. They determine which plants to eat by the sense of smell. (In captivity, they are known to eat dandelions, clover, crowsfoot, lettuce, as well as the leaves, flowers, and pods of almost all legumes.) In addition to leaves and flowers, the animals eat fruits as supplementary nutrition. They only eat a small amount of fruit, just enough to satisfy themselves.
Around midday, the sun becomes too hot for the tortoises, so they return to their hiding places. They have a good sense of direction to enable them to return. Experiments have shown that they also possess a good sense of time, the position of the sun, the magnetic lines of the earth, and for landmarks. In the late afternoon, they leave their shelters again and return to feeding.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herman%27s_Tortoise |
pirate, methos, anel, peter_stoeckl has marked this note useful
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