A rare meeting with a Balkan turtle

      

       Today during our morning walk my dog found in a deep ravine a Balkan turtle. It happens rather rarely now, as turtles  practically disappeared in the South of Europe. Many years ago their habitat  covered France, Spain, Greece, the territory of the former Yugoslavia. But humans killed these slowly moving animals for meat and  turtle-shells   or for keeping in cages. In 1971 only Yugoslavia exported to Germany and some other European countries about 40 000 turtles. Now  they are partially under legal protection, however their population  is going down. Our dog barked at the turtle however he is a well-bred creature and didn’t even try to touch her or to turn her upside down.