Pancake Tortoise

The pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri) is native to rocky hillsides and arid scrub in southern Kenya and northern and eastern Tanzania. It is unique among tortoises for its flat, thin, and flexible shell, which has reduced bone content compared to other tortoises, allowing the animal to wedge itself into narrow rock crevices to escape predators rather than withdrawing into a rigid shell. It is also unusually fast and agile for a tortoise. It feeds mainly on dry grasses and other vegetation. Habitat loss and collection for the pet trade have driven steep declines, and the IUCN assesses it as Critically Endangered.