Geochelone elegans
Silhouette: Andrew A. Farke · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Indian star tortoise (Geochelone elegans) is a threatened tortoise species native to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka where it inhabits dry areas and scrub forest. It has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2016, as the population is thought to comprise more than 10,000 individuals, but with a declining trend. It is threatened by habitat loss and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade. It was upgraded to CITES Appendix I in 2019 by full consensus among all member states, giving it the highest level of international protection from commercial trade. Conservation group TRAFFIC found 6,040 were seized globally that were intended to be sold in the pet trade. Currently they are commonly bred in many countries to be sold as pets.
The carapace of G. elegans is very convex, with dorsal shields often forming humps; the lateral margins are nearly vertical; the posterior margin is somewhat expanded and strongly serrated. It has no nuchal scute, and the supracaudal is undivided, and curved inward in the male; the shields are strongly striated concentrically. The first vertebral scute is longer than broad, and the others are broader than long, with... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wilpattu National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 2 | Yala National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Minneriya National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 4 | Udawalawe National Park | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka |
No species of the same family or order lives in Udawalawe National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Star Tortoise sighting in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 8th most-seen of the 9 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.
April
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Star Tortoise in Udawalawe National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–June, August–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Star Tortoise sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Indian Star Tortoise sightings, Udawalawe National Park ranks 4th at about 20%. The best odds are in Wilpattu National Park (Sri Lanka, about 60%), Yala National Park (Sri Lanka, about 40%) and Minneriya National Park (Sri Lanka, about 20%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Star Tortoise is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Udawalawe National Park (15 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.
