The Tortoise

We all know that each God and Goddess has their own sacred animal. We know the names of those animals and we know to which God or Goddess they belong to, but what do we know about the animal itself? That’s why we will go and dive deeper into the animal itself!

Today we will look at the tortoise. The tortoise is the animal sacred to Hermes. Hermes created the first lyre from a shell of a tortoise and turned the lazy nymph Khelone into a tortoise.  

The tortoise is a land-dwelling creature, while many other turtle species are at least partly aquatic. Just like other turtles, the tortoise carries a shell, this protects them from predation and other threats. The shell is generally hard and the tortoise retracts its neck and heads back into the shell to protect themselves.

The tortoise can vary in dimension from just a few centimeters to two meters. The tortoises are herbivores. 

The diet of the tortoise includes grasses, leafy greens, flowers, weeds, and some fruits. Some tortoise species are omnivorous and consume worms, insects, and carrion in their normal habitats. When a tortoise gets too much protein, it can be detrimental and it also has been associated with shell deformities and can cause other medical problems. Depending on the tortoise species, there is a great variety in their nutritional requirements.

Tortoises have rounded or domed shells, their heads, and legs can be withdrawn into their shells. They have heavily armored and clawed feet, affording them the perfect tools for digging and burrowing into the ground. Tortoises are solitary creatures that prefer to roam on their own. They slowly meander along while feeding. When the weather gets too hot, the tortoise will retreat back to their burrow. As there are a large variety of species, the tortoise can be found in diverse habitats like desserts, mountainsides, sand dunes, scrub forests, and grasslands. Most tortoise species can live up from 80 to 150 years.

• Did you know that tortoises are the longest living land animal in the world?

• Did you know that the tortoise ‘Adwaita’ was 255 years old? 

• Did you know that the ‘Galápagos tortoise’ is the largest living species of tortoises? They can even weigh up to 919 lb (417 kg)!