WTLD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



The food of the land tortoises consists, principally, of 

 vegetable substances, leaves of plants, fallen and decayed 

 fruit, and fungi of various kinds. 



' Many of the water tortoises feed upon dead fish, insects, 

 or other animal matter. Some of them, however, are 

 vegetable feeders, while others there are that feed partly 

 upon vegetable and partly upon animal substances. 



Slow as the movements of tortoises generally appear, 

 the species that live upon animal substances, and have to 

 capture their prey, are quick enough, when so engaged. 

 The snapping turtle, so called, is well known, and is much, 

 to be feared in the localities in which it abounds. Many 

 of the smaller kinds of water tortoises are expert fly- 

 catchers ; swimming about close to the surface of the 

 water, they capture, by suddenly darting forth the head, 

 assisted by the long neck, any insect or other living 

 creature within reach, with amazing rapidity ; the flattened 

 feet give them great swimming power, by the aid of 

 which they move about in any direction with ease and 

 dexterity. 



The tortoise is about the last creature we should have 

 suspected capable of, or have charged with, a display of 

 anger, or of possessing a pugnacious disposition, yet, we 

 learn, upon undoubted authority, that battles among them, 

 in their native haunts, are not uncommon ; they meet and 

 fight by biting and butting at each other like rams, 

 backing a short distance to give greater force to the blows. 

 These fights, like some of the other proceedings of the 

 tortoises, are of considerable duration, frequently lasting 

 all day. They seldom appear much the worse after an 

 encounter, still it shows a determination on the part of 

 these cold-blooded animals to resent a possible injury or 

 offence, or probably to drive off an intruder upon their 

 domestic felicity. 



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