Aquaria KLCC

Yay! Yesterday, I finally got to visit Aquaria KLCC with Xian-Nian! Omigod the soft-shelled turtles were so HUGE!!! We were walking down the stairs and could see this large tank at the bottom, and in it were lots of fishes plus helluva big, fat, juicy soft-shelled turtles!!! I nearly squealed with delight. I never knew they could get so big! They were sitting right at the bottom of the tank, so I couldn't really admire the full extent of their hugeness, but yeah, I would say they're at least as big as my computer desk! And there were these cute little pig-snout turtle thingys that were flapping around in some other tanks, and other cute tortoises too!

Oh yeah, there were lots of other wonderful creatures like sharks, fishes, frogs, snakes, sting-rays, more fishes and um...more fishes. They were nice too.

Forget the narration. On with the pictures.:P

P.S. - One more thing, if you go there, be sure to show your student IDs, if you have any. You'll only pay RM20. We didn't know that. Kena sucked of an additional RM8 each. :(

Name: Pancake Tortoise (yes, pancake!:P)
Scientific Name: Malacochersus tornieri
Geographical Range: Southern Kenya and Northern and Eastern Tanzania
Habitat: Rocky hills, outcrops in arid scrub and savanna. Altitudes from 100 to 6,000 feet.

The pancake tortoise is adapted to fitting into tight crevices. Even larger individuals are less than 2 inches high. The shell is so thin and flexible that the plastron moves in and out when the animal breathes. Since the tortoise could easily be torn apart by predators, it relies on its speed and flexibility to escape from dangerous situations. With the reduced weight of the shell, it can move much more quickly than other species.

It was once thought that it could puff its body up with air to wedge itself in place, but this has been found not to be true. Instead, it orients its spiky legs outward so that it is almost impossible to dislodge. This animal can also climb vertically. Because they are so light they can turn themselves over with ease if they fall on their backs.
http://www.whozoo.org/Intro2002/TiffGarcia/TG_PancakeTortoise.htm

Probably his favourite moment for the day... browsing through books in Kinokuniya. :P

And here's the helluva huge fat ass turtle! I know it doesn't look big here, cos I took this picture from way up.