Tortoise the size of 50p coin hatches at Bristol Zoo

A baby African tortoise the size of a 50 pence piece has hatched at Bristol Zoo.

The tortoise, which has been named Lucy, hatched after four and a half months of incubation two weeks ago in the Zoo's Reptile House.

She's the ninth African pancake tortoise at Bristol Zoo joining four adults and four juveniles.

Curator of reptiles, Tim Skelton, was on-hand to photograph the moment the tortoise pipped through its shell. He said:

The baby tortoise is being fed tiny pieces of dandelion and chicory leaves by keepers and is living in a warm and humid enclosure to replicate the species’ natural habitat.

The species is found in the savannahs and rocky scrubland of Kenya and Tanzania. Its flattened shell allows it to hide from predators in rock crevices.

African pancake tortoises have been classified as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their numbers in the wild are threatened by over-collection for the pet trade and habitat loss due to clearance for agriculture.