Greek Tortoises on Hydra Island Greece
The Greek Tortoise has populated most areas of Hydra (with the exception of the town and villages) but is surprisingly difficult to spot most of the time. On Hydra, May and October are the best months to look for them when they are out and about looking for a mate. One place I know of, is in the fields either side of the path leading to the Plakes beach from the main Vlychos beach.
Tortoises are solitary creatures, that only seek the company of other tortoises when they want to mate. After a brief encounter, they go their separate ways, the females lay their eggs (about 15 each in 3 or 4 burrows) which they then abandon and head off to enjoy a solitary life for the rest of the year. At which point they become practically invisible in the landscape.
Another name for the Greek tortoise is the spur-thighed tortoise, on account of the large conical tubercle on each thigh. They cannot swim and have to stay on land. But they do need water to drink and to keep their shell in good condition.
Tortoises are slow and ponderous when they walk. They are quicker during the mating season and have been known to reach 8 miles an hour in their pursuit of a partner.
Greek tortoises live longer than most other species of tortoise in existence today. The average life expectancy is 70 years. So owning one as a pet brings a huge responsibility that potentially is passed down for several generations.
On Hydra, these delightful, slow moving creatures create an overnight "scrape", which is a nest, made beneath sharp Mediterranean oak shrubs & gorse (for protection) that they can find easily in the countryside. The scrapes are often used by several tortoises. If you are walking or hiking look out for their trails coming out of from beneath prickly shrubs.
Like sea turtles, tortoises are a very old family of reptiles, originating about 220 million years ago. Of all animals that have backbones, these are the only ones with a shell as well, made of 59 - 61 bones with plates called scutes covering them, which consist of keratin, the same substance in our fingernails. The tortoise cannot crawl out of its shell because it is permanently attached to its spine and rib cage. The top of the shell is a “carapace,” and the bottom is a “plastron.”
These animals can feel pain and pressure through their shells, just like we can feel pressure through our fingernails.
Tortoise courtship is rather amusing because the males are often much smaller than the females. Both have oblong shaped bodies but the under shell of the male is much more concave whereas the female 'tummies' are almost flat. Mating rituals happen during May-June. It involves a lot of hissing, small yaps, biting and a lot of barging around. When the male precariously manages to mount his female (his concave tummy helps here) he yaps and pokes his tongue out during copulation. Once the deed is done (less than 60 seconds), they go their separate ways and the female becomes very pre-occupied with finding a suitable place to dig her burrows. Interestingly, the females have the ability to keep the sperm inside her until she has found a nesting site, then she fertilises her eggs when she lays them.
Once the eggs have been laid, it takes from 55 - 70 days for the babies to hatch and dig themselves out. A baby tortoise is immediately independent and wanders off in the wild to enjoy its solitary existence until it is about 5 years old. At that age, the urge to reproduce starts and so the cycle begins again.
The climate is so warm during the winters on Hydra, that tortoises hardly ever hibernate. In fact, they are more likely to go dormant during the ravages of intense summer heat. This means that quite often there will be a second, October, mating ritual. So on Hydra, even though in some places the Greek tortoise is almost on the endangered species register, here the population is booming!
The baby tortoise in the photo above, was born in July 2018, he is called Tommy the Tortoise and was a gift to my grandson who one day will hopefully be able to pass Tommy on to his grandchildren. Tommy measured about 2cm in length when he first hatched. Immediately after arriving, we put him in a shallow puddle of water to help him hydrate and to allow his shell to inflate to its proper dome shape. He lives in a baby-tortoise-sized, protected part of my garden. His diet includes weeds and grass that he finds for himself. He also like Mediterranean vegetables & salad such as peppers, cucumber, lettuce and courgettes. He seems to like the occasional piece of watermelon or grapes too. He has a small scrape protected by a piece of slate under the bougainvillea plant where he feels nice and protected. Each day we put clean water in a shallow saucer for him to drink. The water is never deeper than his chin and he always goes to the toilet in it, which is apparently normal for tortoises to do! His shell is bright and shiny which indicates that he is healthy and well hydrated.
The biggest danger to tortoises on Hydra are the feral cats and local dogs. They don't eat them but tossing them around, simply playing with them can kill the tortoise especially if their shells are cracked. Unlike sea turtles, a tortoise can retract its head and limbs under the protection of its shell, so they are less likely to get their limbs damaged.
Because they tend to live solitary lives ambling around the countryside, Hydra tortoises are fortunate enough to enjoy fairly pristine land that is free of rubbish that could be dangerous to them.
The more wooded, less barren west end of the island provides more protection for them. The east end of the island, which in the past has been decimated by fire, is not a good place to look for them.
First Aid for Tortoises
This is a tricky issue because it's very unlikely that anyone will ever find a sick or damaged tortoise in the wild. But many Hydriots keep a tortoise in their garden. So the general advise is visit a vet if you think your pet tortoise is ill. If the shell gets cracked, rinse it with tepid warm water to clear any dirt, dry and cover with a paper plaster. Take it to the vet as soon as possible.
PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS ILLEGAL TO TAKE A TORTOISE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY (unless you have a specific export licence), so no, I'm afraid you can't take a baby one home with you in your luggage!