Some great news

wellington

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That's great! I sure hope they get a group together and start a search to find more. Woukd be nice if they could do something, even relocate them to ensure their existence.
 

TortoiseRacket

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My dad emailed me that article a few days ago. I wonder if that tortoise is one of the last ones alive from when it almost went extinct, because they can live forever.
 

Kristoff

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She doesn't seem very big for 100 years old.

From the National Geographic article: “The female tortoise, thought to be roughly 100 years old, was taken by the team to a breeding center on Santa Cruz Island...”

But I know firsthand journalists don’t always get their facts straight...
 

William Lee Kohler

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This is such fantastic news:<3:! She is a member of the saddlebacked group and in the other saddleback members the girls are generally quite a bit smaller then the boys and don't develop much saddling if any on their shells. These tortoises can live to about 150-200 years so judging by the smoothness(from wear and little to no growth for many years)she very likely is all of 100 years old. Might have been a youngster and VERY blessed to have escaped notice of the accursed :mad:california academy of science expedition in 1906! If the video is any indication of actuality she was in fact quickly taken to the safety of the captive breeding center. For all interested please consider joining the Galapagos Conservancy and be a part of bringing all of the existent tortoises and other endangered Galapagos wildlife back from the brink. Thank you for caring.
 
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queen koopa

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Fasinating find! I wonder if any others from its clutch are still around. 110 years living in the wild, makes me think living in captivity could be problematic... ?
 
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