Hello!
I am going on a solo bicycle expedition in Africa in a couple of weeks. Since I have a pet tortoise, and I know tortoises can be found in Africa, I've decided to be on the lookout for them and try to meet some. However, I don't know where to look, among the places I'll be visiting, nor what kinds I should expect to see, or in what habitat. I am hoping to learn all of that information, or further resources for it, from you! (Please don't smugly say "google it" or "wikipedia" - I am looking there too
Let me describe my route and the areas I'm going through.
I begin in Djibouti. I travel west through the Danakil Desert where there are volcanos, and explore northern Ethiopia until I hit Lake Tana and travel down the Blue Nile and then onwards to Addis Ababa. From there southwest until crossing in northwestern Kenya at the top of Lake Turkana. I will not spend much time in Kenya. Pushing onwards into Uganda, I skirt the shores of Lake Victoria counterclockwise until Manaka. Then I head south into Rwanda. In Rwanda I will spend the majority of the time in the east. In the northeast particularly is lush rainforest. Are there any tortoises there?? Now turning eastwards I traverse northern Tanzania, going through the Serengeti, and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. Approaching the end of my trip, I hug the coastline at a relaxing pace as I head south to Dar Es Salaam (capital city of Tanzania), stopping at Zanzibar on the way. Then I fly home.
So, I wonder which of these places has tortoises?? Unlike for birds, I image "tortoise-watching" is a little less common a passtime, so I don't expect there to be many tortoise books for this region! But I hope I can gather enough information to make a stab at an interesting survey and get some good photos.
Thanks all for your help.
I am going on a solo bicycle expedition in Africa in a couple of weeks. Since I have a pet tortoise, and I know tortoises can be found in Africa, I've decided to be on the lookout for them and try to meet some. However, I don't know where to look, among the places I'll be visiting, nor what kinds I should expect to see, or in what habitat. I am hoping to learn all of that information, or further resources for it, from you! (Please don't smugly say "google it" or "wikipedia" - I am looking there too
Let me describe my route and the areas I'm going through.
I begin in Djibouti. I travel west through the Danakil Desert where there are volcanos, and explore northern Ethiopia until I hit Lake Tana and travel down the Blue Nile and then onwards to Addis Ababa. From there southwest until crossing in northwestern Kenya at the top of Lake Turkana. I will not spend much time in Kenya. Pushing onwards into Uganda, I skirt the shores of Lake Victoria counterclockwise until Manaka. Then I head south into Rwanda. In Rwanda I will spend the majority of the time in the east. In the northeast particularly is lush rainforest. Are there any tortoises there?? Now turning eastwards I traverse northern Tanzania, going through the Serengeti, and climbing Mt Kilimanjaro. Approaching the end of my trip, I hug the coastline at a relaxing pace as I head south to Dar Es Salaam (capital city of Tanzania), stopping at Zanzibar on the way. Then I fly home.
So, I wonder which of these places has tortoises?? Unlike for birds, I image "tortoise-watching" is a little less common a passtime, so I don't expect there to be many tortoise books for this region! But I hope I can gather enough information to make a stab at an interesting survey and get some good photos.
Thanks all for your help.