The Nile Soft-Shelled Turtle (Trionyx triunguis) is an African freshwater turtle without scales. Their
shell is flat, not domed, and they have a long tubular nose.
They live in rivers and lakes around the Lake Turkana
and Lake Albert areas of Kenya, as well as the White Nile, downstream of
Murchison Falls in Uganda.
They grow to 70 centimetres (27 inches). They are diurnal, which means that it is
active during the day, although sometimes they bury themselves in mud.
They are mainly carnivorous,
feeding on fish, snails, aquatic insects, crabs, amphibians (frogs and toads),
reptiles (such as small lizards), and some vegetation from surrounding plants.
Females can lay 25-100 eggs. Their
average life span is approximately 50 years.
They are critically endangered.
MARTINA NICOLLS is an international
aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different
in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament
(2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a
Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Comments
Post a Comment