The Tortoise ( I refuse to say 'turtle' as those are the marine reptiles ) was one of 2 that we had in our garden in Tanzania. One we picked up at the side of the road and the other we rescued from some kids who were threatening to crack open it's shell on some rocks. The tortoise shell is not some sort of external hardened skin as you might suppose, but it's the animals ribcage that has grown externally and fused into a shell. It's a good design because it has lasted many millions of years essentially unchanged. They are pretty remarkable animals...as is Bugs Bunny.
