The male red-footed tortoise makes a clucking sound that almost sounds like a chicken!
Red-footed tortoises get their name from the red scales found on their limbs. Their shell is narrower and taller than many tortoises, and generally gray-brown with 5-6 sided tan patterns that feature almost white nubs. The tortoise will normally reach from 10 to 16 inches in length, and the males are a bit bigger than females.
They generally live in the rain forest and grasslands from Argentina to Panama. Some have been found in the Caribbean Islands.
This tortoise enjoys fallen forest fruits, especially wild plum. It also eats wild mushrooms, vines, grasses, succulents and carrion, and is attracted to yellow and red flowers.
Perhaps the most responsive, outgoing and curious of tortoises, the red-footed tortoises often congregate in large groups in the wild.
They have few predators except for humans. Destruction of the rainforests has had a marked effect on these tortoises. Currently in the CITES II protected category. Perhaps of even greater danger to the red-footed tortoise is hunting. They are considered tasty food.
These amazing tortoises can live to 50-80 years.