Red Foot Tortoise

Genus and Species: Chelonoidis carbonaria

Red-footed tortoises are tortoises of medium-size that live in Central and South America. They have a bumpy, concave shell, which is usually black, grey or brown, and their skin colour is mostly black.

Native Habitat:
This species occurs in rainforests, temperate forests, dry thorny forests, and savanna areas. They favour heavily forested, humid habitats, avoiding muddy areas due to the difficulty of burrowing in these habitats. They are less commonly found in forest clearings that have mangoes, palms and other vegetation.

Fun fact:
Red-footed tortoises when resting barely move, and they will allow leaf litter to gather on them. Termites have even built tunnels on top of the carapaces of Red-footed tortoises at rest.

Conservation status:
Not Endangered

Around the world:
South America, Caribbean