The most mysterious resident of the Prague Zoo has hatched in the Indonesian Jungle pavilion!
Despite the lack of data on this species, experts believe that the number of individuals of the cryptic turtle in nature is decreasing. The Malaysian and Indonesian forests, which are their natural home, are rapidly disappearing today. The species is classified as near threatened on the IUCN Red List.
The so-called egg tooth is still clearly visible on the face of the small mysterious turtle. A horn-shaped formation on the jaws allows the young to break the shell and hatch from the egg. Soon it will shrivel up and fall off.
Author: Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
“The successful reproduction of a hitherto little-known species of animal confirms the purpose of the modern zoo as a research institution. We cannot successfully protect nature without first getting to know it well,” claims the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek.
They are here thanks to smugglers
“In 2004, we took on a shipment of turtles seized from smugglers in Hong Kong. Among them were also individuals of a hitherto unknown species,” says reptile curator Petr Velenský. Already in 2007, the then still unnamed turtle succeeded in breeding for the first time in the Prague Zoo. “It was not until a year later that it was scientifically described, and that very characteristically – as a mysterious turtle,” he adds.
What do we know about her?
The life of the cryptic turtle is remarkable even on the basis of silent information about its behavior and habits.
- It is omnivorous and does not disdain small animals in addition to plants, but at the same time leads an amphibious lifestyle
- She can swim well and likes to stay near the water, but at the same time she also spends time on land, in the undergrowth of the forest.
The mysterious turtle freely inhabits the river and the forest undergrowth in the Indonesian Jungle pavilion. Visitors have the best chance of seeing it in its part, opposite the binturong and orangutan exhibits.
Author: Photo Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
“At first, we tried to keep the cryptic turtles in the exhibition trench, but during their sthe ability to climb even on sloping walls that was impossible. In the end, their attachment to the thickly overgrown tropical stream environment won out, and so on they live freely throughout the upper floor of the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion,” advises Velenský, where the turtles can be seen in the zoo.