The European pond turtle is the only species of turtle native to Hungary.
European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis), Budapest Zoo.
The European pond turtle in the picture above was photographed at the Budapest Zoo, but they still occur in the wild there. The European pond turtle’s range also includes most of South and Central Europe, West Asia and North Africa. While its range is large the number of individuals has shown a decline due to habitat loss.
The European pond turtle lives in swampy wetlands and eats smaller animals it can catch in the water as well as plant matter, thus it has an omnivorous diet.
Although local laws might prevent the collection of European pond turtle specimens from the wild, captive bred individuals are available in the pet trade so if you really want one you can keep a European pond turtle as a pet.
But it is a turtle from cold climates that also likes to swim so a suitable habitat for it might really be an outdoor pond rather than an indoor aquarium. Whatever you do, the same warnings I have written about in the pond slider article, about meeting the animal’s minimal needs applies to the European pond turtle as well.
Further Readings:
European pond turtle – Emys orbicularis on ARKive.
Tortoise Trust Web – Breeding Emys orbicularis.
Emys orbicularis on Animal Diversity Web.