Indian Star Tortoise
High risk of endangerment in the wild
Native
The Indian star tortoise is a threatened species of tortoise found in dry areas and scrub forest in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. This species is quite popular in the exotic pet trade, which is the main reason it is endangered. The Indian star tortoise was upgraded to CITES Appendix I in 2019 by full consensus among all member states, giving it the highest level of international protection from commercial trade. Conservation group TRAFFIC found 6,040 were seized globally that were intended to be sold in the pet trade.
- Range elevation
- 0 to 450 m
- Range mass
- 1 to 6.6 kg
- Range length
- 15 to 38 cm
- Breeding interval
- Indian star tortoises breed during the rainy seasons, laying up to 9 clutches during that time.
- Breeding season
- Indian star tortoises breed seasonally, usually coinciding with the local rainy season, which varies in timing.
- Range number of offspring
- 1 to 10
- Range gestation period
- 47 to 180 days
- Range time to independence
- 0 (low) minutes
- Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
- 7 to 12 years
- Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
- 6 to 8 years
- Range lifespan
Status: captivity - 25 (high) years
- Typical lifespan
Status: wild - 35 to 80 years
Bouchard, K. 2009. "Geochelone elegans" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed November 10, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Geochelone_elegans/
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