CLAIRE FONTAINE & THE GRANDMA VISIT THE CRARC

Claire Fontaine & The Grandma in Masquefa

Masquefa is a municipality in the comarca of Anoia in Catalonia. It is situated on the edge of the Penedès Depression on the road between Piera and Martorell. It is served by a station on the FGC railway line R6 from Barcelona via Martorell to Igualada.

Claire Fontaine and The Grandma have visited Masquefa this morning. They have gone to visit the CRARC, a wonderful place where some reptiles and amphibians live in a special atmosphere waiting their moment to be returned to its original habitat. You can see lots of different species in this place: crocodiles, frogs, snakes, iguanas and turtles. One of the most interesting species is the Hermann's tortoise, aka Testudo hermanni which is under danger of extinction and thanks to CRARC is returning to its original habitat in ranges like the Albera, the Garraf, the Montsec or the Montsant.

More information: CRARC (Catalan Version)

Hermann's tortoise or Testudo hermanni is one of five tortoise species traditionally placed in the genus Testudo, the others being the marginated tortoise, Greek tortoise, Russian tortoise, and Kleinmann's tortoise. Two subspecies are known: the western Hermann's tortoise and the eastern Hermann's tortoise. Sometimes mentioned as a subspecies, Testudo hermanni peleponnesica is not yet confirmed to be genetically different from Testudo hermanni boettgeri.

Claire, The Grandma & Testudo Hermanni

Testudo hermanni can be found throughout Southern Europe. The western population is found in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and Tuscany. The eastern population, Testudo hermanni boettgeri inhabits Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Turkey and Greece, while Testudo hermanni hercegovinensis populates the coasts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro.

Hermann's tortoises are small to medium-sized tortoises from Southern Europe. Young animals, and some adults, have attractive black and yellow-patterned carapaces, although the brightness may fade with age to a less distinct gray, straw, or yellow coloration. They have slightly hooked upper jaws and, like other tortoises, possess no teeth, just strong, horny beaks. Their scaly limbs are greyish to brown, with some yellow markings, and their tails bear a spur, a horny spike, at the tip. Adult males have particularly long and thick tails, and well-developed spurs, distinguishing them from females.

More information: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Claire, The Grandma, Peke and a crocodile

The real purpose of Claire Fontaine and The Grandma's visit has been to meet one old friend, Peke, a sulcata tortoise that was adopted by The Grandma, some years ago and nowadays lives comfortably in the CRARC.

The African spurred tortoise or Centrochelys sulcata, also called the sulcata tortoise, is a species of tortoise, which inhabits the southern edge of the Sahara desert, in Africa. It is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world, the largest species of mainland tortoise, and the only species in the genus Centrochelys.

Its specific name sulcata is from the Latin word sulcus meaning furrow and refers to the furrows on the tortoise's scales.

More information: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The African spurred tortoise is native to the Sahara Desert and the Sahel, a transitional ecoregion of semiarid grasslands, savannas, and thorn shrublands found in the countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan. 

Claire & The Grandma in the CRARC, Masquefa

In these arid regions, the tortoise excavates burrows in the ground to get to areas with higher moisture levels, and spends the hottest part of the day in these burrows. This is known as aestivation. Burrows may average 30 inches in depth; some dig tunnel systems extending 10 feet or more underground.

Centrochelys sulcata is the third-largest species of tortoise in the world after the Galápagos tortoise, and Aldabra giant tortoise, and the largest of the mainland tortoises. Adults can reach 83 cm and can weigh 105 kg . They grow from hatchling size very quickly within the first few years of their lives. The lifespan of an African spurred tortoise is about 50–150 years, though they can live much longer. The oldest in captivity is 54 years, located in the Giza Zoological Gardens, Egypt.

More information: CITES

Sulcata tortoises are herbivores. Primarily, their diets consist of many types of grasses and plants, high in fibre and very low in protein. Flowers and other plants including cactus pads can be consumed. Feeding of fruit should be avoided.

Sadly, it's much easier to create a desert than a forest. 

James Lovelock