It is common for the shell of a tortoise, in the wild, to show signs of everyday chips and knocks, both on the upper shell (carapace) and the lower shell (plastron).
Sometimes a tortoise has an accident to its shell. The shell becomes chipped, cracked, or broken. It can happen because of a car accident, a fall, a fallen log, or a predator.
A broken shell can take 1-2 years to heal naturally.
Location of photographs: Kenya
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM