pancake tortoise
malacochersus tornieri latin

The greatest threats facing the pancake tortoise are habitat destruction and over-harvesting for trade.

So too will a red strawberry frog, a timber rattlesnake, a copperhead and a pancake tortoise.

Pancake tortoises live in isolated colonies, with many individuals sharing the same kopje, or even crevice.

One of the few exceptions is the African pancake tortoise, which has a flat, flexible shell that allows it to hide in rock crevices.

The pancake tortoise has been bred in captivity and is now the subject of a coordinated breeding programme in European zoos.

They are also sometimes called pancake turtles (although they are distinct from the pancake tortoise).

Both whiptail lizards and pancake tortoises hatched in April 2012 and can be seen in the building.

Suitable habitat for pancake tortoises is not common or extensive when found, and habitat destruction is exacerbating the problem.

Visitors can also wander through the world's largest collection of freshwater turtles to see the unusual pancake tortoise and a nursery containing adorable baby turtles.

In 1981, Kenya banned the export of the pancake tortoise unless given written permission by the Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources.

Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri)

Tortoises: Pancake tortoises, and Galapagos tortoises.

The pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri) is a flat-shelled tortoise native to Tanzania and Kenya.

The European Union banned the import of the pancake tortoise in 1988, but trade with EU members continues, with several countries having reported importing the species.

While the shell bones of most other tortoises are solid, the pancake tortoise has shell bones with many openings, making it lighter and more agile than other tortoises.

The pancake tortoise is a fast and agile climber, and is rarely found far from its rocky home so that, if disturbed, it can make a dash for the nearest rock crevice.

The flexibility of its shell allows the pancake tortoise to crawl into narrow rock crevices to avoid potential predators, thus exploiting an environment that no other tortoise is capable of using.

The animals kept in the Desert House include red-billed quelea, gila monsters, superb starlings, pancake tortoises, Guinea pigs and free-flying Princess of Wales parakeets, as well as a real termite mound.

Turtle Town includes False map turtle, Red-eared slider, Mudpuppy, Eastern long-necked turtle, Pancake Tortoise, Pig-nosed turtle, Mata mata and a Gopher tortoise.

The Asiatic spiny turtle (left) boasts a rim of sharp spikes around the edge of its shell, and the pancake tortoise (bottom) has an unusually flattened shell and body enabling it to slither to safety under low crevices.

Though it claims fewer turtles than the food market, the pet trade has devastated a number of species, turtle experts said, including all four tortoise species from Madagascar, the pancake tortoise of Kenya and Tanzania, and the Egyptian tortoise.

The pancake tortoise is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Pancake Tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri)