Zoo holds 175th birthday bash for tortoise

[emad]

Her keepers say Harriet's longevity is due to a stress-free life


A zoo in Australia has held a 175th birthday party for one of the world's oldest known living creatures, a Giant Galapagos tortoise.
Australia Zoo, where the tortoise has lived for the last 17 years, marked the day with a pink hibiscus flower cake.

Although the animal's exact date of birth is not known, DNA testing has indicated its approximate age.

Some people believe the tortoise, known as Harriet, was studied by British naturalist Charles Darwin.

Darwin took several young Giant Galapagos tortoises back to London after his epic voyage on board HMS Beagle.

DNA testing has suggested the giant creature was born around 1830, a few years before Darwin visited the Galapagos archipelago in 1835.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4438448.stm

[zanne]

1. I wonder if they have a low birth rate...

There has to be a reason why they live so long. Harriet is lovely, though, isn't she?

[emad]

2. Hope they fix her teeth for her as a birthday present...

?

[nerddem]

4. haha, they're just messy eaters

and don't have teeth.

[Shell Beau]

3. Aww!

That sure is a long time of livin'. Oh, the things Harriet has seen!! :wow:

[RedCloud]

5. Wouldn't all those candles start a forest fire?

[Err]

6. That'd be sweet if humans lived that long.

Sigh.