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WYMONDHAM An amateur breeder has doubled the population of giant tortoises hatched in captivity in Britain after her first attempt.
Eleanor Tirtasana, 24, breeds the Burmese brown giant tortoise, one of the most endangered species in the world. Its natural habitat is in Asia. Ms Tirtasana, who runs the Norfolk and Coe Tortoise Club, hatched 19 tortoises from 37 eggs kept in a home-made incubator for three months. “I’m stunned. I only expected three or four to survive,” she said.
Ms Tirtasana, of Wymondham, near Norwich, has kept tortoises since the age of 12.
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My daughter would like to buy a burmese tortoise as a pet because the other tortoises are not very big are they for sale
vee pond, norwich, norfolk
Wonderful! What a pity that we rarely hear of such stories. The news this week of the extinction of the Yangtse fresh water dolphin, and the earlier news of the wanton killing of eight mountain gorillas, stunned those who respect nature, and animal lovers in particular. It is encouraging to know that many people keep up the fight to preserve the earth and all that it gives us.
Ronald E. Watts, Nicosia, Cyprus