The Soft-spoken defender of soft-shell tortoises

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Home > Media > Blog > The Soft-spoken defender of soft-shell ...

Part 2

In the second edition of “Africa Can’t Wait,” communication expert Valerie Odhiambo meets with Jacob Mueti, a research scientist at the National Museums of Kenya, who is leading efforts to protect the critically endangered Pancake tortoise. What began as a childhood fascination has evolved into a decade’s research on these remarkable creatures, known for their unique flat, soft shells. Unfortunately, Pancake tortoises face significant threats, including habitat loss and capture for the pet trade, among others.

By Valerie Odhiambo

Few people in Kenya focus on tortoise research. Despite being the longest living land animals and having interesting cultural significance and complex emotions, they are often overshadowed in public perception.

For Jacob Mueti, the fascination began in childhood. And that dream came true when he joined the research space

“When I joined the National Museums of Kenya, I was assigned to the herpetology section, which studies reptiles and amphibians. I became especially drawn to tortoises—their beauty, slow movements, and uniqueness. “, he says.

Today, Jacob is a trailblazer in this overlooked field. A research scientist at the National Museums of Kenya, he has spent more than a decade studying tortoises, particularly the pancake tortoise.

With support from the Mohamed Zayed Species Conservation Fund, he led a research team to study the critically endangered Pancake tortoise.

Jacob Mueti Ngwava works as a herpetologist at the National Museums of Kenya. His research interests are ecology, biography, taxonomy, and the conservation of reptiles and amphibians.

The pancake tortoise (Malacochersus tornieri) is a critically endangered species in Kenya, though it is also found in Tanzania and a small, perhaps introduced population exists in Zambia. As the name suggests, it is flat, soft-shelled, and adapted to living in narrow crevices in arid and semi-arid areas. It has a beautiful and unique shell pattern that makes it unlike any other tortoise in the world.

Tiny and delicate, a newborn pancake tortoise weighs just 17 grams, barely larger than a 50-pence coin. Baby pancake tortoises are born with domed shells, and it is only as they mature that their shells begin to flatten out.

Unfortunately, those very features have made it attractive to the pet trade. Collection for the international pet market, especially from southeastern Kenya, has driven populations dangerously low. Habitat loss from expanding human settlements and farming has also contributed to its decline.

The species also reproduces slowly. A female lays only one egg per year, which can take six months to hatch. Predators further reduce survival. In a study Jacob and his colleagues conducted between 2020–2022, they found just six eggs—and only two hatched successfully.

“Before our study, not even any of the captive breeders in Kenya had ever documented a wild egg of the pancake tortoise” Jacob says.

Egg of a pancake tortoise

A rapid decline

In the past, Kenya had licensed farms that exported pancake tortoises. But most animals came from the wild, collected by local people for cash, which depleted populations around those farms.

Since 2019, the species has been listed under CITES Appendix One, making international trade illegal. Kenya also recognizes it as critically endangered. Still, awareness is limited. “At first, we preferred not telling communities that the pancake tortoise was valuable, fearing it would encourage illegal collection,” Jacob explains.

But things are changing. Since 2015, through projects funded by partners like the MBZ Fund, Jacob and colleagues have worked closely with local communities in southeastern Kenya. These efforts reduced illegal collection and, in May 2023, culminated in the launch of a National Action Plan for the Pancake Tortoise—a blueprint for protecting the species across its range.

We are still sensitising, because this species is unique. If we lose it, we would be erasing an important branch of biodiversity, and its role cannot be replaced by any other organism.

Jacob Mueti

“We are still sensitising, because this species is unique. If we lose it, we would be erasing an important branch of biodiversity, and its role cannot be replaced by any other organism.”

Habitat loss remains the greatest threat. In the south, slash-and-burn farming destroys rocky refuges and kills hidden tortoises. In the north, pastoralist traditions offer some protection.

Jacob believes the next generation will be key. At the National Museums of Kenya, he mentors young researchers through the Herpetofauna Working Group of Kenya. In Kitui County, his team trained 15 community members—most of them youth—as rangers and conservationists between 2020 and 2022.

The National Action Plan, launched in 2023, is still in its early stages. But with the right support, Jacob believes the work can secure a future for this species.

For more information on the pancake tortoise visit:
Resource 1
Resource 2

The Soft-spoken defender of soft-shell tortoises

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