Pancake tortoise
Malacochersus tornieri
Animal facts
This remarkable tortoise, named for its unusually flattened shell (carapace), makes its home in rock piles (kopjes) which dot the African landscape.
It wedges itself into rock crevices and uses its strong claws to cling on for dear life when threatened by predators on the lookout for a takeaway meal in a box.
Where they live
East Africa
Habitat
Rocky crevices and small caves
What they eat
Savannah grasses
IUCN status
Vulnerable
