I met the sweetest little Aldabra tortoises today and I’ve never felt more pure joy
A potential tortoise owner PSA – Research before you adopt! You have to plan for now and 20 years from now. Sulcata’s grow!
Wow! Thats quite the high note you’ve got there. Wait.. I know this song.. Fantasy! Mariah Carey, right?
A few snaps of some beautifully messy eaters. I’m not sure what type of tortoises these were, anyone with a clue feel free to tell me.
These pictures were taken by me at Bangkok zoo in October 2014
tort-time what kind of babe is this :v
I can’t see the size exactly but they look like Aldabra tortoises to me! Could be a sulcata but they look bigger and rounder so I’m going with Aldabra. Also, I know the Bangkok zoo has a few.
A few snaps of some beautifully messy eaters. I’m not sure what type of tortoises these were, anyone with a clue feel free to tell me.
These pictures were taken by me at Bangkok zoo in October 2014
tort-time what kind of babe is this :v
I can’t see the size exactly but they look like Aldabra tortoises to me! Could be a sulcata but they look bigger and rounder so I’m going with Aldabra. Also, I know the Bangkok zoo has a few.
A few snaps of some beautifully messy eaters. I’m not sure what type of tortoises these were, anyone with a clue feel free to tell me.
These pictures were taken by me at Bangkok zoo in October 2014
tort-time what kind of babe is this :v
I can’t see the size exactly but they look like Aldabra tortoises to me! Could be a sulcata but they look bigger and rounder so I’m going with Aldabra. Also, I know the Bangkok zoo has a few.
A few snaps of some beautifully messy eaters. I’m not sure what type of tortoises these were, anyone with a clue feel free to tell me.
These pictures were taken by me at Bangkok zoo in October 2014
tort-time what kind of babe is this :v
I can’t see the size exactly but they look like Aldabra tortoises to me! Could be a sulcata but they look bigger and rounder so I’m going with Aldabra. Also, I know the Bangkok zoo has a few.
A few snaps of some beautifully messy eaters. I’m not sure what type of tortoises these were, anyone with a clue feel free to tell me.
These pictures were taken by me at Bangkok zoo in October 2014
tort-time what kind of babe is this :v
I can’t see the size exactly but they look like Aldabra tortoises to me! Could be a sulcata but they look bigger and rounder so I’m going with Aldabra. Also, I know the Bangkok zoo has a few.
In cased you missed it, another success story is underway in the Galapagos Islands! Baby Saddleback tortoises have been found on the Island Pinzón for the first time in over 100 years!
This particular species of Galapagos tortoises was near extinction as a result of a rat infestation on the island. Measures were taken to rid the island of rats and, apparently, they have been more successful than anticipated. According to a blog post by Dr. James Gibbs, a conservation biologist SUNY-ESF who has worked on the giant tortoise restoration initiative with Galapagos Conservancy for years,
“By the end of our trip, the team had encountered over 300 tortoises, resulting in an overall population estimate well over 500, a near tripling of the population from the 100-200 very old individuals encountered on Pinzón when the Galapagos National Park was established in 1959. This welcome change, after centuries of exploitation, is a direct result of the successful captive rearing and repatriation program and now the elimination of the rats”
Fantastic news for the Saddleback tortoise, though not all inhabitants of the island have been as lucky. For us tortoise lovers, and the many individuals and organizations working to save them from extinction, its a win. The hope is that the Saddleback tortoise population on the island of Pinzón will continue to grow and find stability, like the Espanola giant Galapagos tortoises have ( one of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative’s biggest successes). Perhaps we can make Lonesome George more than the last of his kind, make him the last giant tortoise extinction. Wishful thinking?
Sources & Further Reading:
These Galapagos Tortoises seem to enjoy human contact most, or maybe there’s an itch just.. right there.. no a little …to the left… these short legs are useless for this sorta thing!
The University of Florida, Psychology department, has completed some fascinating research examining the enrichment preferences of captive animals. In this case, do Galapagos tortoises prefer interacting with ‘play’ objects, the sprinkler, or getting a neck rub from one of their keepers? The hope being, any understanding of their preferences would assist keepers in providing them with the best possible environment.
For the three Galapagos tortoises studied? Their choice was human interaction. “Not only did they prefer keeper interaction overall compared to the traditional forms of enrichment,” Mehrkam said, “but the individual tortoises had preferences for the kind of interaction they wanted. Larry and Curly like having their necks rubbed. Moe liked the shell scrubbing.” (UFL.edu)
Why did they choose human interaction?? Well, that calls for further research… after curly gets his neck rub of course.
so we had a reptile rescue in the store today showing off some animals and this this guy was one of their rescued giant tortoises (not full grown)
his name is digger and he is dressed in his jack-o-lantern halloween costume
You are by far the most adorable pumpkin I’ve ever seen!
so we had a reptile rescue in the store today showing off some animals and this this guy was one of their rescued giant tortoises (not full grown)
his name is digger and he is dressed in his jack-o-lantern halloween costume
You are by far the most adorable pumpkin I’ve ever seen!
Famed Galapagos tortoise ‘Pepe the Missionary’ dies
Famed Galapagos tortoise ‘Pepe the Missionary’ dies
New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/world/2014/08/23/famed-galapagos-tortoise-pepe-missionary-dies/
QUITO, Aug 23, 2014:
“Pepe the Missionary,” a giant tortoise who rose to fame as one of the most photographed animals on Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, has died at age 60, officials said on Friday.
Pepe, who lived in a corral at the Galapagos National Park’s Interpretation Centre, died of natural causes, said the park’s ecosystems director, Victor Carrion.
“Several of his organs had been slowly failing,” Carrion told AFP, saying the tortoise was also overweight.
Park director Arturo Izurieta paid tribute to the tortoise on Twitter.
“After 60 years of life, Pepe the Missionary will remain in our memories forever,” Izurieta said.
He brightened the post with a bit of good news for conservationists: “The disappearance of Pepe the tortoise does not put his species in danger.”
Pepe was a member of the Chelonoidis becki species native to Wolf Volcano on the island of Isabela.
About 2,000 tortoises from the same species still live in their native habitat.
Pepe was adopted from the wild by a family from San Cristobal island in the 1940s.
Local fishermen named him “Pepe,” which was then expanded to “Pepe the Missionary” when he was given to Franciscan missionaries on the island in 1967.
He became the missionaries’ mascot and a beloved community pet, often photographed and fed by visitors to the mission.
The missionaries handed him over to the national park in 2012 — the same year the reserve lost another famous tortoise, Lonesome George, the last known member of the subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdoni.
The Galapagos Islands are famous for their unique flora and fauna studied by Charles Darwin as he developed his theory of evolution.
Oh Pepe, we lost you too soon (and we’ve lost too many of your kind). RIP you incredible shell you.
Helen the Aldabra Tortoise is feeling better after a bout of the sniffles.
(Source: Independent.ie & ITV.com )
Helen, Bristol Zoo’s 90kg (14 stone) giant tortoise, was checked into an on-site clinic after keepers noticed her unusual breathing.
One nasal flush, some diagnostic tests under anaesthetic and a course of antibiotics later, and Helen’s nasal infection is doing a lot better.
Helen is a 32-year-old aldabran giant tortoise – a species classified as “vulnerable” – and has been at Bristol Zoo for 11 years.
She could live to be 150 years old, according to keepers.
Helen the Aldabra Tortoise is feeling better after a bout of the sniffles.
(Source: Independent.ie & ITV.com )
Helen, Bristol Zoo’s 90kg (14 stone) giant tortoise, was checked into an on-site clinic after keepers noticed her unusual breathing.
One nasal flush, some diagnostic tests under anaesthetic and a course of antibiotics later, and Helen’s nasal infection is doing a lot better.
Helen is a 32-year-old aldabran giant tortoise – a species classified as “vulnerable” – and has been at Bristol Zoo for 11 years.
She could live to be 150 years old, according to keepers.
Helen the Aldabra Tortoise is feeling better after a bout of the sniffles.
(Source: Independent.ie & ITV.com )
Helen, Bristol Zoo’s 90kg (14 stone) giant tortoise, was checked into an on-site clinic after keepers noticed her unusual breathing.
One nasal flush, some diagnostic tests under anaesthetic and a course of antibiotics later, and Helen’s nasal infection is doing a lot better.
Helen is a 32-year-old aldabran giant tortoise – a species classified as “vulnerable” – and has been at Bristol Zoo for 11 years.
She could live to be 150 years old, according to keepers.