The largest adults of the northern subspecies, Manouria emys phayrei, can reach 25 kg (55 lb) in the wild and much more than that in captivity.

[5] The Asian forest tortoise occurs in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

In captivity, individuals have accepted a wide variety of food, predominantly being herbivorous but occasionally consuming frogs, snails, or carrion when presented.

[6] Manouria emys is the only tortoise which lays its eggs above ground in a nest, which the female constructs of leaf litter.

The female uses both front and rear legs to gather material for the nest and lays up to 50 eggs deep inside it.