Negev tortoise

Negev tortoise

 
Scientific name: Testudo werneri
In the wild: Endangered species
Situation In Israel: Critically endangered
The Jerusalem Zoo: Breeding core at the Small Animal Building
This is one of the smallest species of desert tortoises in the world. Its range is also small, being limited to the sandy deserts of northern Egypt, and Israel`s Negev desert. Being a desert animal, the Negev tortoise does not hibernate in the winter like most other tortoises. On the contrary, winter is its most active time of year and is in fact also its breeding season. The female tortoise lays 1-3 eggs in a shallow hole. The young hatch before the wet season so they have plenty of food before the dry summer arrives. A dedicated herbivore, the Negev tortoise eats only plant matter. The Negev tortoise is a highly endangered species and serious efforts are being made world-wide as well as in Israel and Egypt to conserve it in the wild, and to breed it in captivity. Main threats to the species are destruction of habitats, construction of military training areas, all-terrain vehicles, over-grazing, invasive and overabundant species, unrestricted sand removal. The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo is conducting a years-long program devoted to saving the Negev tortoise. The program combines genetic research, field research and field surveys with the establishment of a breeding nucleus at the zoo. In view of the great success of the Zoo’s breeding nucleus and the findings obtained from research funded by the Prof. Shulov Fund for the Study of Animals in Captivity, an initial group of tortoises hatched at the zoo have been placed in an enclosure amid the sand dunes of the Negev. This is a feasibility test in preparation for their reintroduction into the wild. Other specimens from the breeding nucleus have been transferred to other zoos in Israel and throughout the world, so as to ensure the future of the Negev tortoise and provide a backup for the work underway in Jerusalem and the Negev.
 

(Photo: Noam Werner)