The soft-shelled turtle swims calmly next to a Cuvier's dwarf caiman, without worrying about a potential attack.
“If he tries to eat it, its shell will be like chewing gum.
It will take the shape of its mouth.
It’s his means of defense,” explains David Branthome, director of the Aquarium du Limousin, in Limoges.
An ability that intrigues visitors, but which is not the only characteristic of this turtle.
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Like 30% of the animals visible here, it also has the particularity of having been abandoned by its owners.
“In 1993, we founded the Réserve aux écailles association, a refuge for fish and turtles, aware that there were lots of abandonments and animals seized by customs.
However, the administrative burden and the absence of a place in France to collect them condemned them.
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