Boutique Hotel Matlai keeps its own family of tortoises — nearly forty of them today, all descended from the first four we took in years ago and named, half in jest, after the Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Donatella, Raphaelo and Michelangelo. They live in their own large enclosure behind the restaurant, bounded by a low wall — not roaming the garden, so if you'd like to meet them, that's exactly where to go, ideally around lunchtime, when they're fed (often zucchini) and come out to eat.
A Few Physical Traits
Their back legs are thick and column-like, built for carrying weight, while the front legs are flatter and slightly turned, tipped with small claws. Despite the bulky build, they move faster than you'd expect over uneven or rocky ground, and they climb reasonably well for an animal their size.
Cold-Blooded and Long-Lived
Like all tortoises, ours are cold-blooded — they regulate their body temperature by moving between sun and shade through the day rather than generating their own heat. That, combined with a naturally slow metabolism, is a large part of why tortoises live so long: many species comfortably outlive the people who raise them.
Nesting
Females dig a pit with their hind legs to lay their eggs, and the young that hatch are already miniature versions of the adults, just a fraction of the size. It's one of the reasons the colony has grown steadily over the years, alongside the tortoises we've taken in.
Leonardo & Donatella: How It Started
Two Tortoises, One Hotel
Leonardo, born in 2003, was our first tortoise, originally kept by private owners in Stone Town. Donatella, around the same age, had been living in a small enclosure in Jozani Forest, and her owners hoped a change of company might lead to offspring. She came to us for what was meant to be a four-week stay.
It didn't take long to see the two weren't going to be separated again. We told Donatella's owners as much, and she stayed. Since then, Leonardo and Donatella have had a large number of offspring, many of whom are still part of the colony behind the restaurant today.
It's a good story, but it's also just how our tortoise family actually started — one hotel taking in two animals that clearly weren't going anywhere without each other.
If you'd like to meet them, ask any of the team where the tortoises are and when the next feed is — they're easy to find once you know to look behind the restaurant rather than the garden.