Harriet the tortoise, RIP

[blobrana]

Harriet the tortoise, the  world's oldest animal in captivity has died on the Sunshine Coast at the ripe old age of 176.
The giant Galapagos tortoise  died of a suspected heart attack. She was a star attraction at Steve "croc" Irwin's Australia Zoo since the 1980s and even features in the Guinness Book of Records for her longevity.

It was originally thought that Harriet was first captured by Charles Darwin in 1835 on the Galápagos Islands. As the tortoises were then dinner plate sized, it is estimated they would have been six years old. However, the story regarding Darwin is most likely apocryphal. Though Darwin caught three tortoises and took them home to Britain aboard the HMS Beagle, genetic tests indicate that Harriet belonged to a sub-species endemic to one of the Galapagos Islands that Darwin never visited.

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[Tigger]

Sorry to hear about that.  We used to have a Sea Turtle at the Gulfarium "General Lee" who was born during the Civil War.  
    -Tig

[mr_a500]

I was sad to hear about that. I remember reading about the turtle's 175th birthday. At the time, they said they were unsure about the age and the turtle could actually be over 200 years old.

Can you imagine living that long? I don't think the turtle would actually remember that far back though. Turtles probably don't have that much long term memory. It's a pity. It would be fascinating to remember what it was like 175 years ago.

[Tigger]

mr_a500 wrote:
It would be fascinating to remember what it was like 175 years ago.

Yeah, when I get that old, I'll probably be arguing with Rogue's great grandson that they really need to port OS 4 to something besides the AmigaOne because I dont think they are going to be making anymore, and the two that are still running (one in the Louve and one in the Smithsonian) really arent a viable market for an OS.  
    -Tig

[blobrana]

Hum,

"Despite her longevity, Harriet is not the world's oldest known tortoise.



That title was awarded by the Guinness Book of World Records to Tui Malila, a Madagascar radiated tortoise that was presented to the royal family of Tonga by British explorer Captain James Cook in the 1770s. It died in 1965 at the age of 188."

(anther tortoise, called Adwaitya, is believed to be older. That animal was said to have been born around 1750, and died in 2006 at the possible age of 255.)

Source

[boing]

Sad to hear.

Bowhead whales are now, supposedly thought to live from 200 to 250 years.  Freaking amazing.

[blobrana]

Hum,
We may not see the like of them again,
the Bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus, is  currently listed as endangered species...

 

wikipedia.org/Bowhead_whale