On my latest summer road trip I spent a lot of time gazing at tortoises, as species such as African spurred, Aldabra and Galapagos (the 3 largest in ascending order) are commonly found in many southern American zoos. What is interesting are the 3 names for the African spurred, as it is also called the spur-thigh or sulcata tortoise and I saw all 3 name variations on zoo signs on my trip. Years ago I would get excited to see a giant tortoise but now they are even more common than komodo dragons, another species that has become relatively ubiquitous in American zoos.
On my latest summer road trip I spent a lot of time gazing at tortoises, as species such as African spurred, Aldabra and Galapagos (the 3 largest in ascending order) are commonly found in many southern American zoos. What is interesting are the 3 names for the African spurred, as it is also called the spur-thigh or sulcata tortoise and I saw all 3 name variations on zoo signs on my trip. Years ago I would get excited to see a giant tortoise but now they are even more common than komodo dragons, another species that has become relatively ubiquitous in American zoos.
Apparently there is an epidemic of large turtles being dumped by former owners who didn't realize how big the turtles get and the responsibilities in taking care of a pet that would likely outlive them. I imagine that many zoos have absorbed sulcatas this way.
