January 07, 2019
Daily pic #88: Looking for new challenges
A common tortoise (Testudo graeca) sunbathing in the winter sun.
Israel has two species of land tortoises: the Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoise (צב יבשה מצוי), a.k.a. common tortoise or Greeek tortoise - the most common turtle in Israel and the much rarer Negev tortoise - a desert species. The common tortoise was one of the first creatures in Israel to be declared a protected species because its popularity as a pet.
I came across this tortoise last Saturday in the Kula forest (יער קולה), while looking for mushrooms. While I didn't find any edible mushrooms, I did take some nice pics of the poppy anemones (Anemone coronaria, כלנית מצויה).
