At present, the European pond tortoise range covers almost the whole of Europe. The species is not present, inter alia, in Great Britain, Scandinavian countries and northern Russia. It is recorded in northern Algeria, Tunisia and Asia Minor. So far, 13 subspecies of the European pond tortoise have been described due to its distribution. In Poland, the tortoise is represented solely by the nominative species - Emys orbicularis orbicularis (L.).

Isolated populations of the European pond tortoise still dwell in a few dispersed sites, mainly in lowland Poland. At present, there are four areas in Poland where a relatively large number of occurrences have been recorded. They include the western part of Pomerania lakeland and the Wielkopolska - Kujawska Lowland, the central part of the Mazury Lakeland, the vicinity of radom, the area between Wlodawa, Chelm and Leczna, i.e. Leczna - Wlodawa Plain (southern part of Western Polesie), and Polesie Wolynskie. Single individuals and small populations are recorded in other parts of the country, too.

Species characteristics

The European pond tortoise is a typical amphibious animal. It lives in stagnant or slowly-flowing waters with muddy bottoms, in ox-bow lakes, swamps and quaking bogs, wild ponds and hags. It feels best in small water reservoirs with clear water warming up quickly, and with a muddy bottom, covered with dense vegetation, which provides an excellent hiding place and abounds in food. Tortoises spend most of their lives in water but they often leave it to warm up in the sun.

The body of the tortoise is covered with a peculiar armour made of modified skeletal bones, forming bony panels covered with horny plates.

In Poland, tortoise mating usually starts at the end of April or the beginning of may, and lasts for a few days. Copulation takes place in water. In late May and early June females migrate to lay eggs in the ground in sunny and sandy sites. After that, the female thoroughly covers up and camouflages the nest, which usually takes place after sunset.

In favourable weather conditions, at the end of August or in the first decade of September, young tortoises hatch. After hatching they migrate to water or spend winter in soil and migrate to water in spring.

 
Threats

The European pond tortoise used to be common in Poland. Nowadays it is a rare and poorly known species. Although is has been protected since 1925 in Poland, its range keeps shrinking. Human activity is the main reason, but natural factors also play an important role here. Threats caused by humans include increased pollution, drainage and cultivation of wetlands, river regulations, liquidation of small water reservoirs and catching for breeding purposes. The main causes of breeding grounds and hatches destruction include afforestation, management of fallow-lands and sand extraction.

Besides climatic factors, natural threats include the impact of predators that dig up and destroy nests. Adult tortoises have few natural enemies. In contrast, young animals migrating to water may become the prey to many predators (foxes, badgers, rooks, ravens, herons, large toads or frogs, even insects - such as water beetle). The hard shell is the only tortoise protection against predators, but it hardens only in the fifth year of life.

Conservation programme

The European pond tortoise is a reptile listed in the Polish and European Red Book as an endangered species. Therefore, its conservation is a must. Such efforts have been conducted, for many years now, inter alia by the staff of Poleski National Park. They include the following: monitoring of tortoises in their breeding grounds, idetifying hatches' locations and protecting them against predators, as well as supervising the natural process of egg incubation. In the case of cold summer, when tortoises fail to hatch before winter, eggs from endagered hatches are transferred to the Centre for Tortoise Conservation of Poleski National Park.

In the Centre eggs are additionally incubated. After hatching care is taken of young animals throughout winter. They are fed, measure and weight to monitor the development. The National Park service has been conducting active conservation of the species since 1998.