If you could become a tortoise which would you be and why?

[DrewsLife727]

I had a weird thought lately. I was wondering what kind of tortoise I would want to be if I could be one. I thought maybe a leopard tortoise. Mine is shy but active when it feels like it. Loves to eat and loves adventures. Sounds like me =] How about you? What kind of tortoise do you want to be and why?

 

[cristal redfoot]

Redfoot all the way. I want to be beautiful ahaha and I love how friendly and socially awkard they are just like me

 

[mattgrizzlybear]

Red foot! They are friendly and the most (in my opinion) beautiful tortoises out there. Also I would be an Aldabra tort because of there size!

 

[wellington]

Either Aldabra and owned by Greg or Leopard and owned by Tom

 

[Mky2k]

I would be a Russian so I could drink all the vodka....

 

[Julius25]

No hesitation ! Aldabra owned by ALDABRAMAN

 

[ColorfulTortoise]

I'd probably be a leopard. They are beautiful and have great personalities. I'm hoping to get a leopard when the next reptile expo rolls around

 

[AndreaRosie]

An extinct one. Like Lonely George. Everyone would pay attention to my every need.

 

[Tom]

Either Aldabra and owned by Greg or Leopard and owned by Tom

OMG! Wouldn't you want to be wild and free.... Out there on the plains with all the wind, weather, droughts, predators, parasites, food shortages, etc...

Okay okay, just a little sarcasm... I totally agree with you though.

I'd want to be a big sulcata or Galopagos. Nothing is going to eat one of those big boys.

 

[Yuttt]

I think I would be a Cherry Head Red Foot Tortoise, because I have red hair!

 

[Q'sTortie]

I would love to be a big Aldabra or Galapagos born and raised by Aldabraman so I will grow perfect and purdy if not maybe one of the ones Aldabra nerd posted, at a conservation

 

[BigD9]

I would be a Sulcata
I think there soo pretty!

 

[Liam Owen]

I would be a Galapagos so I could chill on the rim of a volcano (like a sona) all day long

 

[Masin]

Either Aldabra and owned by Greg or Leopard and owned by Tom

Meeeee too!!!

 

[wellington]

Either Aldabra and owned by Greg or Leopard and owned by Tom

OMG! Wouldn't you want to be wild and free.... Out there on the plains with all the wind, weather, droughts, predators, parasites, food shortages, etc...

Okay okay, just a little sarcasm... I totally agree with you though.

I'd want to be a big sulcata or Galopagos. Nothing is going to eat one of those big boys.

No. I want my every need catered too

 

[leonardo the tmnt]

I would like to be something big like a huge sulcata or a huge Aldabra !

 

[MrJorgensen]

Galapagos...just think of the beautiful islands. You'd not only be an amazing tort, you'd have an amazing home with million dollar views.

 

[mctlong]

I'd like to be a new species.

My species would be native to temperate, coastal regions. It would be ugly, common, and toxic to eat. My species would be revered as a deity in local religions. Killing or harassing my species in any way would be strict taboo and destroying my natural habitat would be punished most severely by the gods.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Living or extinct? Given how much tortoises these days are hunted, collected for the pet trade, and losing their habitat to human development, I wouldn't want to be in any tortoise's position right now. However, barring all that, I'll give you an answer for both.

If I could be any living species of tortoise, I would be a sulcata. These are the largest continental tortoises alive today, and are able to coexist with some of the biggest and toughest carnivores in the world: Nile crocodiles, lions, leopard, cape hunting dogs, and others. Kudos to mighty sulcata for this feat.

If I could be any tortoise species, living or extinct, I would be the giant Atlas tortoise (Colossochelys (Megalochelys) atlas). Weighing in at over a ton, this tortoise was even bigger than today's Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises, and is the largest tortoise species ever known. It ranged over southern Asia until the Pleistocene Epoch, and was probably most closely related to today's Testudo and Indotestudo genera. A full-grown individual would have been immune to predation from even large carnivores like wolves, bears, and big cats (rather like an ankylosaur or a glyptodont). Only humans were able to kill such a behemoth, which is probably why it's extinct today. Actually, there used to be Galapagos- and Aldabra-like tortoises on the South American and African mainlands, respectively, but people probably gobbled them up, too. Unable to burrow, giant tortoises were probably limited to warm climates, but when it came to predators, fully adult ones were vulnerable only to us.

Anyway, that would be the tortoise I'd want to be - the giant Atlas tortoise - simply for its shear size and toughness. Here are some pictures of it:

 

[bigred]

I would want to be a little big guy named TUFF = Aldabra. You know the story