FACTOID #151: The five countries with the highest coffee consumption are also the five countries whose citizens trust one another the most. Coincidence? Probably.
As with its aquatic cousins, the turtle and the terrapin, the tortoise is shielded from predators by a shell.
Tortoises generally have a lifespan comparable with that of human beings and parakeets, and some individuals being known to have lived longer than 150 years.
The giant tortoises of the Galápagos Islands helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution, since the isolated populations on the different islands, although descended from a common ancestor, had diverged to different forms.
The Hinge-back Tortoises, as they are commonly called, develop a hinge that allows them to close the rear of their carapace, protecting their back legs.
Hinge-backs possess the elephantine feet associated with tortoises, although the front feet are not quite as blunt as the rear.
The male tortoise climbed onto the female and then lowered his back until it was touching the ground, leaving the male pointing upward at about a 70 degree angle to the ground.
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