Gonfaron : save the Hermann tortoise!
They are now to be found only in the Maures and in Corsica. The Tortoise Village is committed to the preservation of the species in its natural environment. Here is a guided tour.
Hermann Tortoises, named after Jean Hermann, a naturalist from the Alsace, have been around for approximately 50 million years, so forming the most ancient vertebrate species in Europe. Many people persist in thinking they are simply garden tortoises, and are under the impression they are doing them a favour them when they take them in. "In the case of a female," explains Stéphane Gagno, responsible for animal care for the Soptom*, the managing body of the Tortoise Village, "this means depriving the species of one hundred young, ten a year over ten years. In the case of a male, who fecundates two to three females per year, it's three hundred. One way or another, it is a catastrophe. More tortoises now live in captivity than in their natural habitat." Inspections have however become more frequent, and nowadays illegal possession is punished with large fines. The main enemies for the Hermann tortoise are urbanisation, which disrupts its territory, and fire. Survivors will generally be found on valley floors, where they can retake possession of their territory, providing no one picks them up.
The wildlife care centre takes in and provides treatment for specimens wounded by dogs or brush cutters, releasing them once they have recovered. The village also houses tortoises from Florida and North Africa, along with pet shop species abandoned by their owners, who do not realise how dangerous this can be for local species, because of disease and genetic pollution. The Soptom is also an internationally recognised research centre on chelonians, and is campaigning for an extension of the designated preservation area, and for the creation of a "Maures Plain" Natura 2000 zone.
(*) Station for the Observation and Protection of Tortoises and their natural Milieu
Contact us
Le Village des Tortues
Quartier les Plaines
83590 Gonfaron
(0033) (0)4 94 78 26 41
To 9 am to 19 pm everyday.
E-mail contact 
Website
See the access map
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Topic : Landscapes and nature
Published on : 2008/11/13
Tags : gonfaron gonfaron save the hermann tortoise
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