In mid-summer throughout much the Mediterranean zone, air and surface temperatures are far too high to permit tortoises to remain active. With the exception of rare thunder-storms there is also no rain, and very few other sources of water available. In response, the tortoises bury underground, typically from June to mid-September in a state of aestivation (sometimes spelled as 'estivation') until temperatures fall to safe levels and the first autumn rains arrive.
