Western Swamp Tortoise

They live in swamps in Western Australia

Most of the year they sleep in a hole

They wake when the winter rain comes

They eat shrimps and worms

A surprise discovery!
Western swamp tortoises were thought to be extinct, because none had been seen for over 50 years. However, in 1953 a Perth schoolboy brought one to a pet show. A conservationist was there, and the tortoise was unfamiliar to him so he investigated further. A search was made, and several more western swamp tortoises were found and taken to Perth Zoo. The zoo continues to breed the turtles, assisted by Adelaide Zoo, and each year some Western Swamp tortoises are released into the wild.

Physical features
The western swamp tortoise has a squarish brown shell about 14 cm long. It weighs about 400 grams.

Behaviour
The western swamp tortoise spends the summer months buried in soil and leaves. It becomes active when the winter rains come and the habitat floods.

They are found only in two swamps, both near Perth, Western Australia. The swamps are formed by the winter rainwater staying on the clay ground.

Food
Western swamp tortoises eat tadpoles, insect larvae, shrimps and worms, which they find in the shallow water and around the edges of the swamps where they live.

Reproduction
After the tortoises mate in September, the female digs a hole with her front legs, lays 3-5 hard-shelled eggs in a hole which she then covers with leaves and soil. Western swamp tortoises are the only kind of turtle or tortoise known to dig with their front feet. Six months later, in the first winter rain, the eggs hatch. The young grow slowly, and take 10-15 years to mature. The tortoises live for about 40-50 years.

Conservation status
Although numbers have increased, the western swamp tortoise is still Australia's most endangered reptile. There are about 200 in the zoo breeding program, and about 130 now in the wild.

The reasons they became endangered:

swamps have been drained for farming,

drought and bushfires have also reduced their habitat,

they were killed by foxes, and feral dogs and cats.

Authorities have established a safe wild habitat where the zoo-bred turtles are released.

Find out about turtles

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Updated February 2007