3087) Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria), Antigua and Barbuda: Antigua and Barbuda Postal Service (ABPS) has issued a postage stamp featuring this slow-moving endangered Tortoise: Date/Year of Stamp issue: 15.11.2023:
About The Red-Footed Tortoise:
The Red-footed Tortoise (Chelonoidis carbonaria) is a species of tortoise native to South America. It is one of the more popular species of tortoises kept as pets due to its manageable size, distinctive coloration, and relatively docile nature.
Red-footed tortoises have many common names - red-leg, red-legged, or red-foot tortoise (often without the hyphen) and the savanna tortoise, as well as local names, such as carumbe or karumbe, which means 'slow moving' (Brazil, Paraguay), wayapopi or morrocoy (Venezuela, Colombia), and variations of jabuti such as japuta and jabuti-piranga (Brazil, Argentina).
In Portuguese, jabuti (jaboti) refers to both the red-footed tortoise and the yellow-footed tortoise.
These medium-sized tortoises generally average 30 cm (12 in) as adults but can reach over 40 cm (16 in). They have dark-coloured, loaf-shaped carapaces (back shell) with a lighter patch in the middle of each scute (scales on the shell), and dark limbs with brightly colored scales that range from pale yellow to dark red.
Recognised differences are seen between red-footed tortoises from different regions.
They are closely related to the yellow-footed tortoise (C. denticulatus) from the Amazon Basin.
They are popularly kept as pets, and over-collection has caused them to be vulnerable to extinction.
Their natural habitat ranges from Savannah to Forest edges. They are omnivorous with a diet based on a wide assortment of plants, mostly fruit when available, but also including grasses, flowers, fungi, carrion, and invertebrates. They do not brumate, but may aestivate in hot, dry weather.
Eggs, hatchlings, and juvenile tortoises are food for many predators, but the main threats for adults are jaguars and humans. Population density ranges from locally common to very scarce due in part to habitat destruction and over-collection for food and the pet trade.
Conservation and relations with humans:
The Red-foot Tortoise is considered vulnerable and is listed in CITES Appendix II, restricting international trade - although this does not offer protection within a country and smuggling still occurs in large numbers.
Conservation parks and refuges, captive-breeding farms in natural conditions, and increased captive breeding in other countries has helped, but they are still exported in large numbers mostly as pets and food. The recorded exports do not include smuggling or other losses, which some estimate to be well over twice that number.
They are widely used as food throughout their ranges, especially where other meats are limited. Their ability to go a long time without eating makes it easy to catch and keeps them fresh for extended periods.
The Catholic Church allows tortoises to be eaten on fasting days when most meats are forbidden such as Lent.
Habitat destruction is another significant threat to the red-footed tortoise, and so many other species. They are also widely collected as local pets and their shells are sold as souvenirs.
The Stamp:
Links to Posts on Turks and Caicos Islands:
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
For some other interesting posts on Currencies of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, please visit the following links:
18) Sea Motifs, Bahamas: Gold Bullion Coins in the denominations of 100 Dollars (depicting a Blue Marlin) and 250 Dollars (depicting a Conch Shell): Coins issue date: 03.12.2019
19) A new Generation $100 Polymer Banknote, Trinidad and Tobago with enhanced security features to "raise the bar" for counterfeiters & unscrupulous elements: Banknote circulation date: 09.12.2019:
20) Festival di Tumba (Carnival of Curacao), Curacao: "50th Edition of the Curacao Carnival/Festival" held from 27-31.01.2020: A set of six Commemorative Postage Stamps brought out by Cpost (Curacao Post) on 20.02.2020
21) New Polymer Banknotes, Trinidad and Tobago: The entire series will consist of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 denominations: $100 has already been issued on 09.12.2019
23) "Caribbean Sea-Horse", Barbados: $10 (Ten Dollars) 1.0 Oz. Gold Bullion Coins & $1 (One Dollar) 1.0 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins minted by the Scottsdale Mint; Year of issue: 2020
24) Cayman Islands, A British Overseas Territory (BOT): A set of identically numbered Banknotes of the presently circulating Banknotes from the "D" Series of Banknotes
Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
26) A new 100 Boliviano Banknote from Bolivia: issued by the "Banco Centrale de Bolivia" (Central Bank of Bolivia) on 15.01.2019 under its new 2018 Banknote Series
27) Central Bank of Uruguay ("Banco Centrale del Uruguay"): 50th Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) - 1967-2017 - celebrated with the issue of a 50 Peso Commemorative Banknote on 14.09.2018
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
Dutch Castles Coin Series:
For other interesting posts on issues from the Royal Dutch Mint, Netherlands and PostNL, please visit the following links:
10) First Atlases, Netherlands: Commemorating 450 Years of the first Atlas (1570-2020) & others: A Stamp Sheet of six stamps depicting the Atlases which were compiled in the Netherlands in the 16th & 17th Centuries AD: Stamp Set issued by POstNL: Date of Stamp Set issue: 23.03.2020
For interesting posts from the Caribbean Netherlands on this blog:
5) City of Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium: 20 Years as UNENCO World Heritage Site: A 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the Royakl Dutch Mint under licencing of the Royal Belgian Mint, on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium: Coin issue date: 26.02.2020
6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
Links:
Posts on Aruba on this blog:
Posts on SEPAC issues on this blog:
Posts on Finland on this Blog:
Posts on Sweden:
Links:
The undernoted two links will take you to our blog "Footloose" for two interesting posts written by me on the Dutch presence in Sadras in the 17th Century AD:
5) City of Bruges (or Brugge), Belgium: 20 Years as UNENCO World Heritage Site: A 20 Euro Silver Proof Coin issued by the Royakl Dutch Mint under licencing of the Royal Belgian Mint, on behalf of the National Bank of Belgium: Coin issue date: 26.02.2020
6) 100 Years of Nature & Environment Protection, Luxembourg: Commemorating the Centenary Anniversary of the "Letzebuerger Natur a Vulleschutsliga a.s.b.l. (Luxembourg Nature and Bird Protection Society):A 0.80 Euro Stamp issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Date of stamp issue: 10.03.2020
7) Celebrating 25 Years of listing on UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Luxembourg: A Commemorative Stamp of 0.80 Euro issued by Luxembourg Postes (Post): Stamp issue date: 10.03.2020
16) Ancient Postal Routes - the Postal Boat Race - between Aland and Sweden", Aland, Finland: A EUROPA Postage Stamp of 2.00 Euro issued by Aland Post: Date of Stamp issue: 08.05.2020
Posts on SEPAC issues on this blog:
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Wonderful and informative post👍"
Thank you so much Trikha sahab.
Delete