Sahara's silent traveller charms visitors

Rare African spurred tortoise becomes special attraction for children at B-17 zoo

TAXILA:

TAXILA

A 70-year-old African spurred tortoise from the Sahara Desert has become a major attraction for visitors, particularly children, at a zoo in B-17 Islamabad, located near the historic city of Taxila and the ancient land of Gandhara.

Weighing 15 to 16 kilogrammes, the elderly tortoise appears extremely slow, but belongs to one of the most remarkable species of land tortoises found on Earth.

Scientifically known as Centrochelys sulcata, it is considered Africa's largest and the world's largest mainland tortoise, with adult males weighing more than 100kg.

Having lived for around seven decades, the tortoise is a living example of the unusually long lifespan of its species. According to wildlife experts, tortoises of this species can live for 100 years or more under suitable conditions and with proper care.

Its natural habitat, thousands of kilometres from Pakistan, comprises the dry and semi-desert regions along the southern fringes of the Sahara Desert, known as the Sahel, stretching across countries including Senegal, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan and Ethiopia.

To protect themselves from the intense heat and drought of the desert, these animals have the remarkable ability to dig burrows up to 15 metres deep.

They are called spurred tortoises because of the prominent pointed projections on their hind legs.

There is no formal or nationally authenticated count of the total population of this rare species in Pakistan. However, their presence has been recorded in various zoos across the country.

Pakistan's most well-known and significant record of the species has been that of "Julie" at Karachi Zoo. According to a 2018 report by international news agency Reuters, Julie was recorded as being 50 years old and weighing 150kg.

Although the world's largest land tortoise is the Galapagos giant tortoise, which weighs more than 400kg, the world's oldest living land animal is an Aldabra tortoise named "Jonathan" in the British territory of Saint Helena, which is more than 190 years old.

The African tortoise at the Islamabad zoo, however, is a rare specimen of its kind in the region because of its age and size.

The presence of the African tortoise in B-17 also carries significance in view of Taxila's historical and cultural background.