Kinixys spekii
Silhouette: Andrew A. Farke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Speke's hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys spekii), also known commonly as Speke's hingeback tortoise, is a species of turtle in the family Testudinidae. The species is endemic to Africa. The specific name, spekii, is in honor of English explorer John Hanning Speke.
K. spekii has an elongated carapace, up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in straight length, which is distinctly flattened, allowing it to seek refuge in rock crevices and under logs (the co-occurring pancake tortoise is even more flattened). Its carapace has a weak, disrupted medial keel, and posterior marginals that are neither strongly serrated nor reverted. This species has a well-developed hinge at the rear end of the upper part of its shell, permitting the protection of its rear legs after they have been retracted. The male has a notably longer tail than the female of this species, and the tails end in a spine. Females possess a flat plastron, yet males have a more concave one.
Speke's hinge-back tortoise is found in East Africa from Uganda and Kenya south to Eswatini, next to Mozambique and Zululand. Its range extends westwards as far as the coast of Angola. K. spekii... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akagera National Park | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | |
| 2 | Liwonde National Park | 🇲🇼 Malawi | |
| 3 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyiv Zoo | 🇺🇦 Ukraine |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Speke's Hinge-back Tortoise sighting in Kruger National Park on a given day, based on 144 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 62 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
December to February
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Speke's Hinge-back Tortoise in Kruger National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June–July and September, the lowest months. Those are among Kruger National Park's wettest months, with about 100 mm of rain a month against almost none in August.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Speke's Hinge-back Tortoise sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Speke's Hinge-back Tortoise sightings, Kruger National Park ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Akagera National Park (Rwanda, about 30%) and Liwonde National Park (Malawi, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Speke's Hinge-back Tortoise is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Kruger National Park (144 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
