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World's smallest turtle gets help to clean food off his face
The black-breasted leaf turtle is one of the smallest turtle species on earth, growing to a mere 11cm in length (4.5 inches). They are a strikingly beautiful turtle with a shell that resembles a fallen leaf, and large owl-like eyes. Capable of watching two things at once, their large eyes provide this turtle with very keen vision. They inhabit the forest floor of heavily canopied areas in Vietnam and South East Asia, eating worms, insects, and fallen fruit. Visual perception seems to be important to these small turtles as they readily feed on fruits and vegetables that are red, or brightly coloured. They also seem to prefer overly ripe fruit, possibly also due to colour.
Although this turtle prefers to live near fresh water such as streams, it is a terrestrial turtle and does not live in the water.
These turtles reside at the Toronto Zoo in an elaborate and sizable enclosure that has fresh water, leaf substrate and a healthy population of these turtles for socialization. Highly praised for both the living conditions for zoo families and their efforts to promote and fund conservation efforts world wide, the Toronto Zoo is an excellent organization.
The turtle in this video has just been fed. Although his friends have also had their share, the lingering piece of his lunch on his beak has attracted the attention of one of his buddies. He makes a beeline for the one with the food and helps him out by grabbing the morsel of food for himself. The adorable little faces and expressive eyes make these turtles a joy to watch.
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