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14th May 2018
Categories: Visitor News
Devon home to the smallest tortoise in the country!
Uk’s first spider tortoise bred at Paignton Zoo
You would be forgiven for not having heard of the spider tortoise, it is one of the world’s smallest tortoises and one of the rarest, so rare in fact that very little is known about them, all that we can be sure of is that the species is classed as being critically endangered. Their natural habitat is the forests of Madagascar, but thanks to deforestation, mining, growing infastructure and using land for agriculture, they are a species which is constantly under threat. They also fall prey to smuggling, as they are popular on the international pet trade.
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This would all paint a bleak picture if it wasn’t for the miraculous achievement of the team at Paignton Zoo who have successfully bred from their collection of four adult spider tortoises. A single egg, which is normal for this species, was laid and after around 180 days, successfully hatched on 25th April to much celebration.
The new baby spider tortoise will be reared by the team at Paignton before being rehomed at another zoo.
Devon is home to many conservation sites, including the zoo at Paignton and Exmoor and a number of small holdings where families can get up close and personal with a number of creatures, both big and small!
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