This is a big-headed turtle waddling around
For my birthday last week, I got a really cool book about reptiles from my Aunt Holly and Uncle Mark. One of the animals that I learned about from this book is the big-headed turtle.
Here are five interesting facts about them:
- These large turtles grow up to 40 cm long, including their unusually large tails.
- Their head is so big, that it can’t even fit inside its shell. They have a very powerful bite and will hold on for a long time, causing serious injury.
- Even though they live in rivers, big-headed turtles aren’t very good swimmers. However, they are excellent climbers and can climb up trees and rocks.
- They hide during the day and come out at night to hunt for snails, worms and fish.
- Big-headed turtles are found in fast flowing rivers and streams in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. They are considered endangered due to over-hunting for their meat and for the pet trade. As they are very slow breeders, it takes a long time for their numbers to recover.
I hope that you found these facts interesting and learned something new.
Are there any other interesting facts that you would like to share about big-headed turtles?
I like the Frog-Faced Softshell Turltle because I like how they lay 28 eggs!!!!!!!!
I liked your turtle facts, and your fabulous blog. You are really smart and explorer-like. But turtles died because of climate changes, too. Poor these dudes. By the way, do hunters use their shell for sale?