Burmese mountain tortoise

Physical features

• The Burmese mountain tortoise’s shell is charcoal, brown, or black in color.

• The Burmese mountain tortoise has a broad, flattened shell, wide nuchal scute, and paired supracaudal scutes.

• Their front legs are covered in thick, large, overlapping scales. They have a grouping of large tubercular scales on each thigh, which are so prominent that these tortoises are sometimes called “six-legged” tortoises.

• They are the largest Asian tortoise, ranging from 19-24 inches in length and weighing 44-82 lbs. This ranks them among the five largest mainland tortoise species (not including Aldabra and Galapagos tortoises, which are only found on islands).

Diet: Herbivore

• Wild – Variety of plants, fungi, invertebrates, and frogs

• Zoo – Leafy greens, vegetables, mushrooms, commercially prepared tortoise chow

Reproduction

• Females lay their eggs within a nest mound that they create out of leaves and other debris that may be up to 2.5 feet high and 5 feet wide. She will then guard the nest for nearly the entire incubation period, protecting it from predators by pushing them away with the front of her shell, or lying flat on top of the nest to make digging into it more difficult.

• Incubation time ranges from 63 – 64 days.

• Clutch size is between 21 and 70 eggs.

• Courtship is more elaborate than most other tortoise species. The male bobs his head to communicate with prospective mates. Males and females both vocalize to communicate while courting. Males aggressively push away other males and engage in vocal disputes to prevent them from mating with nearby females.

Interpretive Information

• During the warmer parts of the day, the Burmese Mountain Tortoise may soak in pools of water or burrow into deep leaf litter or damp soil to keep cool.

• Burmese Mountain Tortoises use head and neck movements and vocalizations for communication.

• They are crepuscular, meaning they are most active during the morning and evening.

• There are two subspecies of Burmese mountain tortoise: the brown mountain tortoise (Manouria emys emys) and the black mountain tortoise (Manouria emys phayrei). Zoo Atlanta houses the Burmese black mountain tortoise.

• This species is also known as the Asian giant tortoise and ranks as one of the 10 largest tortoise in world.

Updated April 2024