Watch out for THIS hasty tortoise!

Seeing tortoises in the Stilbaai area, is a common sight and one has always to be on the look-out for them crossing a road.
This little one was seen at the Kasselshoop cheese factory about 17km outside Stilbaai on a hot day and it was literally running as the earth was quite hot under its feet.
There are 13 tortoise species in South Africa and eight of these are found in the Western Cape alone! Two of the rarest tortoises can be found only in our area, namely the ‘Padloper‘ (it grows no bigger than 10cm and weighs about 100g) and the ‘Rooipens‘ or ‘Ploegskaar‘.
The world’s smallest tortoise, the ‘Suidelike Klipskilpad‘ (loosely translated as southern rock tortoise) as well as Africa’s second biggest land tortoise (the Leopard Tortoise) that can weigh up to 20kg and can become older than 70 years, can be found in the Western Cape. The Western Cape is also the only place in the world where you will find the world’s rarest tortoise, the ‘suurpootjie‘. This tortoise can be recognised by its yellow stars on the black shell and is endangered as its habitat, alluvial fynbos soil, is being destroyed. (Article on www.mystilbaai.co.za)
World Turtle Day is being celebrated on 23 May.

You might just see tortoises, buck and other animals like cows, sheep and probably Pablo the lama who is also Kasselshoop’s shepherd when you participate in the Kasselshoop Farm Run / Walk on 24 February 2018. This is the first of 10 events that will be taking place this year on the farm Soebattersvlakte known for Kasselshoop and Old School Cheese.
To find out more about the Kasselshoop Farm Run / Walk, visit the website – www.mystilbaai.co.za

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