Cameron Posted April 1, 2006 From Yahoo news.. A giant tortoise thought to be one of the world's oldest creatures has died at Calcutta Zoo. Local lore said Addwaita the Aldabra tortoise was around 250-years-old. She had been at the zoo since 1875. Addwaita, whose Bengali name means "the one and only", was one of four tortoises brought to India by British sailors from the Seychelles. She was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company and apparently spent 125 years living in large garden before moving to the zoo. "According to records in the zoo, the age of the giant tortoise, Addwaita, who died on Wednesday, would be 250 years approximately," said zoo director Subir Chowdhury. The zoo wants to carbon date her shell to determine exactly how old she was. The world's oldest documented living animal is Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
