A Visit with Giant Galapagos Tortoises

Tami and I went to go visit some Galapagos and Aldabra tortoises yesterday. I knew they were big, but I wasn't entirely prepared for immense. In fact, when I first walked into the yard, I thought a few of them were giant statues of tortoise shells. Nope, those things are alive. Believe it or not, they actually seem bigger in person than in these photos.

Me feeding one of the big guys an apple:




Rubbing him on the head:




The other tortoises going to town on the corn -- husks and all:



The first two shown below are about 400 pounds and around 20 years old. It's believed that they can live around 100 years in the wild, though the one that Darwin brought to Australia is still alive at 160. In other words, it's hard to say exactly how long they can live on average, because we haven't been around long enough to measure.

The owner of these said that he saw one in Florida that was 900 pounds, so these guys are nowhere near their full growth potential. The parents of one lived at the San Diego zoo.

As huge as they are, they're inspiringly gentle and social -- they actively approached us to check us out. They have thick, leathery skin like an elephant, and enjoy a good rub on the head and neck. Amazingly, the owner demonstrated that they can actually feel a fingernail scratch on the outside of their shell. One of they would run away when it was scratched.

There were also Sulcatta / African Spur-Thighed tortoises around, which was my previous point of reference for a "very large" tortoise species. They were dwarfed by the Galapagos and Aldabras.

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