HERMANN'S TORTOISE
This wonderful tortoise is the only wild tortoise on Kefalonia. Their high domed shell or carapace can be up to 250mm in length and can be a variety of colours. The carapace can be yellow, ochre, beige or pale orange with extensive black markings. The hatchlings have fewer contrasting markings which develop into the adult colouring after their second year. Mating takes place in spring and summer and females can lay up to 3 clutches of 8 eggs throughout this period. The little ones emerge in September.
Hermann’s tortoise can be found up to an altitude of 1800 metres and prefers dry and semi-humid habitats. Unlike most reptiles, tortoises are exclusively vegetarian, feeding on grasses and herbaceous plants. You are more likely to hear their shells banging together during mating or hear them rustling in the undergrowth, but they are sometimes visible. They can be seen basking or grazing at the base of bushes or in grassy and herbaceous meadows. They are also seen on the sides of roads, as this individual was, and I have seen pictures of a few crossing over the footbridge on the lagoon in Argostoli. The footbridge is the De Bosset bridge and is the longest stone bridge crossing a sea in Europe.
