Turtles show their real speed (and they have some) in water

"Why do turtles walk so slowly?," asked Joshua Lopez, 7, of Hoffman Estates and a first-grader at MacArthur Elementary School in Schaumburg.

Tortoises, turtles and terrapins are very similar. They carry around a green camouflage hard shell that's both shelter and protection, like a portable house. Since they don't have any teeth, their firm jaw can grab and grind up their meals. They begin life in an egg.

Tortoises live on land and eat only plants. These guys are slow. Their stubby legs hardly seem able to carry the weight of their large shells.

"Tortoises have domed shells and elephant-looking feet," said Patty Anderson, Brookfield Zoo's lead keeper of the Children's Zoo, the Hammill Family Play Zoo and Australia House. Their meals are an easy catch, so there's no reason for tortoises to be quick on their feet. "They eat plants so they don't have to be fast. The shell keeps them safe so they don't have a lot of predators," Anderson said.

You'd be surprised how quick turtles and terrapins can be. They zip around the ponds, rivers and lakes they call home. Their webbed feet give them the speed they need to grab a tasty fish or wriggly worm in a hurry. But when they set foot on land, they aren't going to win any awards for acceleration.

Turtles, tortoises and terrapins can live a very long time. "The giant Galapagos tortoise can live 150 or 200 years," Anderson said. "Even small box turtles can live 40 or 50 years. Some live over 100 years."

Lots of turtles live at the Brookfield Zoo. Two exhibits have turtles on display, the Swamp and Feather and Scales. Corky, a 64-year-old red bellied turtle who lumbers along at the Hammill Family Play Zoo, is one of the zoo's oldest residents. For more information about the zoo and its animal residents, see the Web site czs.org.