Asian brown tortoise, Mountain tortoise
The Asian forest tortoise (Manouria emys ), also known commonly as the Mountain tortoise, is a species of tortoise in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Southeast Asia. It is believed to be among the most primitive of living tortoises, based on molecular and morphological studies.
The Asian forest tortoise is the largest tortoise in mainland Asia. Its carapace is considerably depressed, its depth not half its length. The plastron is a large, gular region somewhat produced and usually notched, the hind lobe deeply notched. The forelimbs anteriorly have very large, bony, pointed, imbricate tubercles, forming four or five longitudinal series. The hind limbs have very large bony tubercles on the plantar surface, with others larger, conical, and spur-like on the heel, and a group of still larger conical tubercles on each side on the back of the thighs. Adults are dark brown or blackish. The carapace of juveniles is yellowish-brown, with dark-brown markings.
Asian forest tortoises occur in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. They live in evergreen forests and prefer moist habitats and cool temperatures.
Asian forest tortoises are slow solitary land-dwelling creatures. They are active at twilight and during the day of the temperature is not too high. During the day they like to cool off burrowing in damp soil or soaking in shallow pools or streams. Asian forest tortoises are quite shy in their nature but in order to communicate with each other, they use head bobbing and vocalizations.
Asian forest tortoises are herbivores. They feed mainly on juicy vegetation including leaves, bamboo shoots, tubers. They also eat fruits and some invertebrates and frogs.
The Asian forest tortoise is the only tortoise that lays its eggs above ground in a nest, which the female constructs of leaf litter. The female uses both front and rear legs to gather material for the nest and lays up to 50 eggs deep inside it. She then sits on and near the nest to protect it, and will "chase" predators and intruders away. The incubation period lasts between 63 and 84 days.
The main threat to this species comes from humans who heavily collect these tortoises for food, traditional medicine, and the illegal pet trade. Another serious threat is habitat loss caused by logging, expansion of agriculture, the building of hydroelectric dams, forest fires, and droughts.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Asian forest tortoise total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
