A calm, friendly tortoise with a big domed shell and a smiling face. The shell is divided into large plates, so it suits children who are still learning to stay inside the lines. Color it realistically in greens and browns, or make every plate a different color — both look good. (Japanese uses a single word, kame, for turtles and tortoises alike; the one in this picture is the land-dwelling kind.)
PDF (2 pages: line art and a color sample) and PNG
What is a turtle’s shell made of?
The shell is bone. A turtle’s backbone and ribs are fused into it, so it is part of the skeleton — not a house the animal can climb out of. Over the bone lies a layer of scutes made of keratin, the same protein as our fingernails and hair.
How long do turtles live?
Longer than most pets. A red-eared slider can reach 20 to 30 years with good care, and giant tortoises often pass 100. The best-known example is Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise living on the island of St Helena, reckoned to be over 190 years old and still going strong.
Why do turtles walk so slowly?
On land a tortoise carries its shell everywhere it goes, and its legs are built for steady plodding rather than speed. In water it is a different animal: sea turtles glide with very little effort, and leatherbacks have been credited with bursts of roughly 30 km/h — though most turtles cruise far more gently than that headline figure suggests.
