The Three Stooges

These three tortoises are - I think, a False Map Turtle (centre), a Wichita Map Turtle (right) and a Yellow Bellied Slider (left). They were lined up begging to be photographed at the Tortoise Valley park or zoo in the Route de la Vallee Heureuse in Sorede, Sud de France. This is a nutty but wonderful place - a zoo with nothing but turtles, tortoises and terrapins in it two-thirds of the way up a forest track clambering up the side of one of the lower mountains in Les Alberes range on the Franco-Spanish border. This was on a baking hot day, so the exhibits were all pretty lively.

Apparently, all native French tortoises in the Alberts were wiped out in a severe forest fire in the 80s, so these are the only ones in the region now.