Yellow Footed Tortoise

Description:

Yellow footed tortoise at the Tulsa Zoo. The sixth largest tortoise species on Earth. Pretty neat little guy. Found him free roaming the rainforest part of the zoo. ID'd him with some help from the zookeeper working the area.

Habitat:

There is some disagreement as to which habitat is the preferred type for yellow-footed tortoises. Some feel they prefer grasslands and dry forest areas, and that rain-forest habitat is most likely marginal. Others suggest humid forest is the preferred habitat. Regardless, they are found in drier forest areas, grasslands, and the savanna, or rainforest belts adjoining more open habitats. The red-footed tortoise shares some of its range with the yellow-footed tortoise. In ranges shared in Surinam, the red-footed tortoise has moved out of the forests into grasslands (created a result of slash and burn agriculture), while the yellow-footed tortoise has remained in the forest.