19 Mar, 2008

What appear to be extra limbs are only protuberances which may help stabilise the reptile as it moves in its steep terrain.

Earlier in this trip to Kaeng Krachan National Park  in Thailand, we spent two days searching the forest unsuccessfully for a tortoise that goes by many names: Asian mountain tortoise, Burmese black tortoise, Burmese forest tortoise and black Asian giant tortoise among them (Manouria emys phayrei).

With just two days left here, I spent the afternoon in a hide staking out a place at the Petchaburi River where birds like to come to drink and bathe in the afternoon. The afternoon wore on, the birds failed to show up and I was on the brink of giving up when I heard a whistle behind me.

Peeping out of the hide, I saw two rangers from the park. One of them was carrying a tortoise. A guide with another group had found it on the track nearby and, thinking we might be interested, brought it to our guide. This was unfortunate as we have a strict policy at Earth-Touch of not disturbing wildlife or manipulating footage.

After discussing it with the guides, we decided the best thing to do was to film the tortoise briefly, then return it to where it had been found.

This species of tortoise lives in evergreen forest, usually in hilly country, and eats a variety of soft plants. In Kaeng Krachan National Park they are known to inhabit areas up to 1 000m (3 280ft) above sea level, including areas with very steep slopes, which they are able to ascend and descend.

We had hoped to be able to film this species because it has what appear to be two extra legs protruding from under the carapace. In Thai this species is known as the 'six' (legged) tortoise.

These are not true legs, of course, but extensions coming from somewhere near the top of the real back legs, but they are equipped with claws. At times we could just see these claws, especially when the tortoise was trying to climb a slope or over an object in its path. The rangers say it is a feature to help stabilise them on the steep hillsides here.

This one is not yet fully grown; adults can reach a length of 58cm (23in) measuring from the front to the back of the carapace in a straight line. The bigger ones are relatively slow but this youngster was surprisingly fast.

After filming for a short while, we returned this specimen to the area where it had been found, which was in fact only about 50m (164ft) away.

– by Darryl Sweetland, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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