'Darwin's tortoise' dies at age 176

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'Darwin's tortoise' dies at age 176

#1 Postby alicia-w » Sat Jun 24, 2006 7:31 am

'Darwin's tortoise' dies, age 176

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A 176-year-old tortoise, believed by some to have been owned by Charles Darwin, has died in an Australian zoo.

The giant tortoise, known as Harriet, was long reputed to have been one of three tortoises taken from the Galapagos Islands by Darwin on his historic 1835 voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.

However, historical records, while suggestive, don't prove the claim, and some scientists have cast doubt on the story, with DNA tests confirming Harriet's age but showing she came from an island that Darwin never visited.

According to local legend, Harriet was just five years old and probably no bigger than a dinner plate when she was taken from the Galapagos to Britain.

She spent a few years in Britain before being moved to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens in Australia's tropical Queensland state in the mid-1800s, where she was mistaken for a male and nicknamed Harry, according to Australia Zoo, which later bought the 150-kilogram (330-pound) tortoise.

The Queensland-based zoo is owned by "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin and his wife Terri.

"Harriet sadly died last night after, thankfully, a very short illness," senior veterinarian Jon Hanger told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Friday.

"She'd been sick yesterday with, in effect, heart failure. She had a very fairly acute heart attack and thankfully passed away quietly overnight," Hangar said.

Irwin said he considered Harriet a member of the family.

"Harriet has been a huge chunk of the Irwin family's life," Irwin said Saturday.

"She is possibly one of the oldest living creatures on the planet and her passing today is not only a great loss for the world but a very sad day for my family. She was a grand old lady."

Harriet was believed to be the world's oldest living tortoise, and one of its oldest living creatures. Despite her longevity, however, 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 ripe age of 188.

Scientist Paul Chambers cast doubt on Harriet's Darwin connection in an article in the New Scientist magazine and a book, "The Unexpected History of the Giant Tortoise."

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#2 Postby kevin » Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:29 pm

:(

Thats a creature who had seen some things.
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#3 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:36 pm

Yup, they can live some pretty long lives... I think I recall as a child hearing about a tortoise/turtle... (think the former) who was alive during Washington's time having "passed to the other side". They estimated it was around 180 or so at the time. I suppose among "seeing" animals, tortoises are among the longest lived of them all.

Now they don't "see" history; but many trees out there have been around a LOT longer. Some in Cali, and Mexico, I'm given to understand, are still very much alive, and were so more than two thousand years BEFORE Christ! Amazing...

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#4 Postby wxmann_91 » Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:48 pm

Tortoises are among the longest living things on Earth, I've heard. Some can live thousands of years.
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#5 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Sun Jun 25, 2006 3:38 pm

I seriously doubt any tortoise has ever lived anything like "thousands" of years. No disrespect intended here, but I would find any source claiming that to be dubious at best. Most respected scientific journals, (And I receive quite a few including those of the NSTA) acknowledge a life span of "over 100 years and up to over 150 have been noted"... the oldest I have ever seen, (and it's not proveable) was the one that died this year in Calcutta's zoo, claiming that it had been born in 1750 (or about 254 or 5 years old).

Far and away, the longest living things on Earth would be in the plant kingdom, and while there may be some that have hung around for more than the nearly 5,000 years of the tree I cited... I haven't heard of any yet.

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#6 Postby Regit » Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:50 pm

Audrey2Katrina wrote:I seriously doubt any tortoise has ever lived anything like "thousands" of years. No disrespect intended here, but I would find any source claiming that to be dubious at best. Most respected scientific journals, (And I receive quite a few including those of the NSTA) acknowledge a life span of "over 100 years and up to over 150 have been noted"... the oldest I have ever seen, (and it's not proveable) was the one that died this year in Calcutta's zoo, claiming that it had been born in 1750 (or about 254 or 5 years old).

Far and away, the longest living things on Earth would be in the plant kingdom, and while there may be some that have hung around for more than the nearly 5,000 years of the tree I cited... I haven't heard of any yet.

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Just a little trivia in case you're ever on Jeopardy:

The oldest living animal was the aforementioned. The current record holder is not yet known.

The oldest plant is a King's Holly Tree growing in Tasmania, Australia. It is 43,600 years old.

The oldest living known life forms are a collection of microorganisms found inside a water droplet which was carried inside a salt crystal. The salt crystal was about 250 Million years old, thus the organisms are at least that old. They were found in an old sea bed which is currently located in the United States. They are a species of a not-before-seen bacteria and are, for now, being called B. permians.


EDIT: I forgot to include that the oldest living animal ever documented was a Madagascar radiated tortoise which was either 188 or 192 upon its death in 1965. And to add to Audrey's correction, the life expectancy of a tortoise in captivity is 177 years.

OLDEST EVER:

Reptile: 188 or 192 years Tortoise

Mammal: 122 or 128 years Human Being

Fish: 101 years Sturgeon

Bird: 60 years (est) Royal Albatross
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#7 Postby wxmann_91 » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:00 pm

Well I guess I was wrong. Apologies for that. I heard it from my parents.
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#8 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:07 pm

They were found in an old sea bed which is currently located in the United States. They are a species of a not-before-seen bacteria and are, for now, being called B. permians.


Yup heard about that one too... in Carlsbad New Mexico I believe. According to one theory they had been in a rather protracted state of dormancy being one of many types of halotolerant bacteria capable of producing a tough endospore wherin they can remain dormant until or unless more favorable conditions are present. They had to be re-animated in a laborator setting. (talk about a LONG sleep!) There are, however, skeptics, scientists who dispute the claim that any organism, even bacterial endospores can survive viably for such a great length of time and the rRna tests conducted seem to support their doubts. IF they truly have been suspended this long, they would have survived throughout the age of dinosaurs and every era since the great Permian mass extinction which was far and away the greatest in all Earth history. Halophilic bacteria are not uncommon, and other endospores have been found that are estimated at more in the range of 30-40 million years of age--these seem to be the best documented among the more realistic estimations/claims.

Also heard about that King's Holly, which is also an estimate based on fossils of which the youngest discovered puts it at at least 43,000 years ago, since the plant is essentially sterile and incapable of reproduction.

Okay... enough of that... but this is an area of interest for me as well. :wink:

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#9 Postby Audrey2Katrina » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:13 pm

Apologies for that. I heard it from my parents.


No need to apologize at all Wx... that's what we're all here for... to learn and share. :wink:

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kevin

#10 Postby kevin » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:44 pm

Million year old bacteria? Impossible!!!!!!1 The earth is clearly 6,010 years old. :D
Last edited by kevin on Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#11 Postby alicia-w » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:25 pm

:roll:
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