Category: Turtles
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Big-headed Turtle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 大頭龜 – 香港野生動物
Days of rainstorm brought this little fella to the mountain stream behind my backyard. Not an easy find — the Big-headed turtle is a lesser-known endangered species native to Hong Kong, China, and SE Asia. It is nocturnal and lives in and around mountain streams with fast-running water. Not a slow turtle at all. It…
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Wild Ploughshare Tortoise Is The Rarest Species I’ve Ever Found
Today is Endangered Species Day. (瀕危物種日) The rarest animal I’ve ever found was the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). Only around 20 of them are in the wild. But that’s a subspecies of leopards. In terms of a full species, this is the rarest one in my experience. Let me introduce the most endangered species…
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Amboina Box Turtle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 馬來閉殼龜 – 香港野生動物
There are only 5 species of freshwater turtles native to Hong Kong. But more than 5 other species can be found in here, and they were introduced. This is one of them. Amboina box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) is also called Southeast Asian box turtle or Malayan box turtle. Cuora amboinensis (Daudin, 1802)Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ReptiliaOrder:…
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Chinese Box Turtle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 黃緣閉殼龜 – 香港野生動物
There are only 5 species of freshwater turtles native to Hong Kong. But more than 5 other species can be found in here, and they were introduced. This is one of them. Chinese box turtle (Cuora flavomarginata) is also called Yellow-margined box turtle, or Golden-headed turtle. Cuora flavomarginata (Gray, 1863)Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: ReptiliaOrder: TestudinesSuborder: CryptodiraSuperfamily:…
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Green Sea Turtle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 綠海龜 – 香港野生動物
Did you know that sea turtles would come to Hong Kong? There are 7 species of sea turtles in the world, and surprisingly all of them have been spotted in Hong Kong waters. How amazing! Our most frequent visitor is the Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Young turtles are carnivores, preying on crabs, shrimps, jellyfish,…
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Golden Coin Turtle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 金錢龜 – 香港野生動物
The Chinese three-striped box turtle (Cuora trifasciata), or better known as Golden coin turtle in Chinese, used to be very common when I was a kid which I refuse to provide the number of years ago. However, now it has become critically endangered due to habitat destruction and poaching. This species is now very rare…
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My Oldest New Friend The Aldabra Giant Tortoise
200+ years old is the age of this tortoise I was told. It might be exaggerated but still, I think this is the oldest animal I have ever met. I had to check history books to imagine how the world was like when this old folk was a 3-inch small hatchling. Giant tortoises are proven…