The mane attraction in the Beijing Aquarama exhibition at the moment
is this ‘hairy tortoise’. It has a shock of green hair sprouting from its
shell, which needs regular trimming. Ian Swingland of the University of
Kent, an expert on reptiles, said he was ‘gobsmacked’. He added: ‘I know
of no tortoise or turtle which has hair growing out of its shell.’ Swingland
believes the animal is probably a freshwater terrapin and the hair is a
growth of algae.
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