The Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica) is a large forest tortoise growing up to 330 millimetres (13 in) in length. It primarily feeds on grasses and herbs. It also feeds on molluscs, insects, animal carcass, fungi and fruits. It occurs in hill forests at 450–850 m elevation. Males combat by ramming their shell during their breeding season between November and March. It makes a shallow nest in the ground and lay 1-5 eggs. Hatchlings are 55–60 mm in size. The tortoise is hunted and it is threatened due to forest fires, habitat destruction and fragmentation.

• Identification: a scute right behind the head is absent and the second scute along the vertebral column is located at the highest point of the shell.

• Status: IUCN Red list - Vulnerable; Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule IV.

• Distribution: restricted to the Western Ghats
  Western Ghats
  The Western Ghats, Western Ghauts or the Sahyādri is a mountain range along the western side of India. It runs north to south along the western edge of the Deccan Plateau, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. The Western Ghats block rainfall to the Deccan...
  
  , in the states of Kerala
  Kerala
  or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
  
  , Karnataka
  Karnataka
  Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
  
   and Tamil Nadu
  Tamil Nadu
  Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
  
   (India
  India
  India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
  
  ).

• Vernacular names:
  • Tamil: Periya amai, Kal amai.
  • Kadas: Vengala amai.
  • Kannada: Betta aame, Gudde aame, Kadu aame.
  • Malayalam: Churrel aama.