Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is a leopard tortoise we found at the side of the road. It appeared to be grazing in a large field of Bermuda grass. This was at Addo Elephant Park, just north of Port Elizabeth.

We found leopard tortoises from hatchlings to about two feet long. We also found about nine leopard tortoises near Bloemfontein which is outside their reported range per maps we checked. The average daily temps in Bloemfontein per their web site range from about 45 degrees to 75. Cooler than what I think of as typical leopard tortoise range.

I thought I would show another pic from Addo Elephant Park to show that it has more than just leopard tortoises! You can see that in addition to large grassy plains there is also many shrubs, etc. for tortoises to hide and take shelter.

Sounds like an exciting and informative trip. We can learn a lot about husbandry from field observations. How long and how cold is the Winter down there in the Southern range of G. pardalis? What other herps did you see...Sungazers? Seeing elephants and tortoise together is great-two of my favorites. Thankyou for posting. Regards, Vic