Keepers at Longleat celebrate Pancake Day with a difference!
Family of pancake tortoises expands at Wiltshire safari park
Last updated 16th Feb 2021
While most of us are indulging in the traditional snack on Shrove Tuesday, staff at Longleat are marking a very different kind of pancake today.
No fewer than five Critically Endangered baby pancake tortoises have been born at the Wiltshire safari park in the last year.
The eldest of the quintet, Syrup, is celebrating his first birthday today.
He was joined by siblings Banana, Peanut, Piccolo and Prairie for the big day alongside proud parents Poppadom and Jua.
The cute reptiles are native to Kenya and Tanzania and get their name from their unique flat shell.
Pancake Tortoises are renowned for their speed, agility and climbing skills.
As they cannot use their shells for protection from would-be predators, they have to rely on being flat, fast and flexible to evade capture.
The greatest threats facing the pancake tortoise are habitat destruction and the illegal pet trade. Due to their slow reproductive rates, wild populations take a long time to recover if their numbers fall.
In the wild they can live for up to 25 years, while the oldest recorded age in captivity is 35 years.