A tortoise found me

[Bartholomew]

Hi guys

I am a first time user on this forum. I stumbled upon it while trying to figure out what this little bloke was. He came wandering up my drive a few days ago, as I was reversing my car out - a few seconds later and I might not have spotted him, with terrible results. I am pretty sure he is a Leopard.

He is about 25cm long, and weighs about 2.5 kilograms. We suspect he is a dumped pet, because he is pretty friendly - and not nervous around people at all. I'd be grateful for a confirmation. The souvineir Vietcong helmet is to give a size comparison.

 

[dmmj]

welcome
looks like a leopard to me. Also looks well taken care of.

 

[yagyujubei]

It is indeed a leopard. Are you in Africa?

 

[Bartholomew]

Thanks for the welcome;

Yes, I'm in South Africa; we live in a town called Sedgefield, which is kind of famous for its wild tortoises. These are mostly angulates - we have about a dozen or so that wander in and out our garden, which is layed out with indigenous plants that they can feed on. But I've never seen a leopard tortoise here before.
This chap is very friendly - not scrappy and aggresive like the angulates, who seem hell-bent on tipping each other over. He takes food from us, which is why I think he's a dumped pet. Its possible, given Sedgefield's tortoise rep, the owner might have thought it was a good place to dump him. Although why anyone would do so I have no idea.

 

[Neal]

Beautiful leopard there. It could be someone's pet, but his shell looks like he's seen quite a bit of "wild" action.

 

[Greg T]

That is indeed a leopard, and a very nice one at that. Good markings and smooth. Question is now - what do you do with it? If you think it is a lost pet then hang some signs, but beware of people with false intentions trying to claim it. Don't include a picture and make them describe it to you. Whoever owned it knows what it is, the size and other special features. A leo like that is worth quite a bit of money on the market. If you want to keep it, sounds like you have a very nice tort for your yard. I have three of them about that size and enjoy them a bunch.

Good luck!

 

[drxl34]

Thanks for the welcome;

Yes, I'm in South Africa; we live in a town called Sedgefield, which is kind of famous for its wild tortoises. These are mostly angulates - we have about a dozen or so that wander in and out our garden, which is layed out with indigenous plants that they can feed on. But I've never seen a leopard tortoise here before.
This chap is very friendly - not scrappy and aggresive like the angulates, who seem hell-bent on tipping each other over. He takes food from us, which is why I think he's a dumped pet. Its possible, given Sedgefield's tortoise rep, the owner might have thought it was a good place to dump him. Although why anyone would do so I have no idea.

Cool! I'm traveling to SA later this year would love to see wild tortoises you don't see those here.. -_-

 

[Bartholomew]

I'd definitely recommend Sedgefield, if its tortoises you are after. We even have a rather weird statue in town of one. And the only town in the country where tortoises have their own road signs giving them the right of way. Mostly little angulates. They scuttle about everywhere. And further north, in the Karoo desert, you would come across larger species wandering about.

 

[Bartholomew]

Most of the houses around us are holiday homes, empty right now. If one of the few people living in our part of town did lose a tortoise, we would have heard by now. He also has faded paint on his shell - someone dabbed it on him at some stage. So we will discretely ask around and see if anyone has lost him.

 

[Bartholomew]

Thanks Neal. Boy, I never realised there was such a following for these critters. I can see why. And our new friend may well have had a few tumbles in his past. But he ain't sayin..

 

[Jacqui]

And our new friend may well have had a few tumbles in his past. But he ain't sayin..

Wouldn't that be fascinating, if they would speak to us.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

welcome
looks like a leopard to me. Also looks well taken care of.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Bartholomew:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

 

[batchick]

Hi Bartholomew,
Just a note. If you're going to keep the tortoise, you need to apply for a permit from Cape Nature (I think their jurisdiction is as far as Sedgies). That said, I'm still waiting on them to come and inspect for suitability and we've been looking after our tortoise for a while now.

 

[austinl01]

Awesome tortoise! Congrats on the cool find.

 

[drxl34]

I'd definitely recommend Sedgefield, if its tortoises you are after. We even have a rather weird statue in town of one. And the only town in the country where tortoises have their own road signs giving them the right of way. Mostly little angulates. They scuttle about everywhere. And further north, in the Karoo desert, you would come across larger species wandering about.

Thanks for the tip! Just looking for as much wildlife as i can. This'll be the farthest from home I've been

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

 

[nicoleandrocky]

welcome to the forum! cute little tort just walking around ! lol

 

[DesertGrandma]

Welcome Bartholemew. Aren't you the lucky one??!! Would love to have a nice leopard like that one happen upon my front step. Glad you joined the forum. It is so nice to actually hear from someone in So. Africa.

 

[Bartholomew]

Bart as we've called him is settling in well (hence my nick, but my real name is Gavin). He refuses to use the front garden, where the unrully angulates hang out. Even though he is about three times their size. They would never tip him over - and I have not actually seen one try (My wife Jeannine has posted elsewhere on the angulates, with pictures of them tipping each other over).
But it could be all the squabbling and carousing the smaller tortoises get up to is a bit upsetting for him. I gather Leopards are solitary animals.
He adores Hibiscus flowers and unfortunately, my elephant ear succulent. Oh well - I guess he needs the roughage. Which reminds me, I never realised they did such large poops. At first, I thought a stray dog had come onto the property. But later Bart fessed up by producing more evidence. He's like a walking stomach.
Still, we are lucky to have him. They do occure in the wild to the north of here - the Karoo desert about 50km inland. They become enormous and look like walking boulders. They are also much more pale in shade than Bart - which could indicated sun exposure in the desert air.