No matter how you say it, getting to pet this cool-looking guy was one of our adventures when we visited the zoo with our grandsons last Friday.
We learned that this one was a land turtle, which is why he has clawed instead of webbed feet at the end of those thick, stumpy legs. He was a baby, about the size of a mixing bowl now but will grow to be about 250 pounds. His shell is much more intricately designed and colored in real life, very art deco in design. This quick sketch did not do it justice. But I seem to say that a lot.
The green thing coming out of his mouth was a piece of grass he was munching on, not the creepy lizard-like tongue it seems to be here.
We also learned that he can feel things through his shell, the way we can feel it when we touch or squeeze our fingernails. I thought back to all the times as kids when we thumped mercilessly on turtles' shells, thinking they were hard and impenetrable. Is it my imagination, or was he looking at me as if he knew that?
Lo siento, tortuga.
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