Natal foldback tortoise, a species of foldback tortoise, is endemic to Natal province, South Africa, hence its name. Many friends may not know much about foldback turtles, because most of them are distributed in Africa and are not common in my country. And this popular science article will take you to know the Natal foldback tortoise who is struggling to survive.

I. What is folding the back?

Simply put, they fold on the back. The back of the Natal foldback tortoise is not a whole. There is a soft structure similar to ligaments or joints between the 7th and 8th marginal shields of its carapace, which can fold the back.

The turtle species with this special structure are well-known in my country, such as the Yunnan box turtle, which tightens the carapace and connects it with the plastron through the joints in the middle of the plastron. together, forming a protective box that protects the soft parts of the body.

Second, the function of folding the back

Speaking of this, it is not difficult to see that whether the back is folded or the shell is closed, their purpose is to Defending the enemy. When encountering an enemy, the Natal foldback tortoise retracts the individual's tail and hind limbs into the carapace by folding the back to avoid the attack of predators.

Compared to those breeds that are born to be shrinking turtles, they are not talented enough, so they can only rack their brains to develop such a way of survival.

Three, Living habits

In order to survive, the Natal folded tortoise is not only folding its back Skills, but constantly improve their living habits in all aspects to adapt to the environment.

1. Cope with hot summer: They mainly live in dry semi-desert areas, where the temperature difference between day and night is very large, and the summer is extremely hot. In this regard, it will dig holes in the dry puddles and hide in them, waiting for the rainfall while avoiding the heat, and also summer sleep when it is particularly hot, which can be said to kill three birds with one stone.

2. To cope with famine: they like to eat green plants such as grass, pasture, flowers, leaves and fruits. But such food is often harder to find in hot summers or cold winters, when they eat small insects or invertebrates or even their carrion to survive periods of famine. To survive, they evolved omnivorous habits.

IV. Population Status

Despite their efforts to survive, the extant population of the Natal tortoise is still very rare. Even in the province of Natal, where it originated, this species is rarely seen on the market, and in China, it is even more out of reach for all turtle lovers.

Currently, the only way we know of to see these tortoises is to go to the many wildlife sanctuaries planned by the South African government.

What do you think after reading the popular science of Natal's foldback tortoise? The turtle species that work so hard to survive cannot escape the fate of endangered. Next, let us protect them together.