Post by Die Fledermaus on Jun 23, 2006 20:17:49 GMT -4
WIKIPEDIA:
>> Harriet (circa 1830–June 23, 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise (probably Geochelone nigra porteri) that had an estimated age of 176 years old at the time of her death, making her the oldest known living animal in the world.
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 Galápagos Islands that Darwin never visited.
For over a century, Harriet was actually mistaken as a male, and thus named Harry.
For 99 years she lived at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens in Queensland, Australia, but was later moved to the Australia Zoo, owned by The Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin, where she lived out the remainder of her life.
On November 15, 2005, her much publicised 175th birthday was celebrated at the Australia Zoo.
She died peacefully in her enclosure on June 23, 2006 of heart failure following a short illness. <<
ABC NEWS:
>> By ANGIE GANGI
June 23, 2006— Harriet the tortoise, one of the world's oldest living creatures with links to famed naturalist Charles Darwin, has died in Australia at age 175.
The giant Galapagos tortoise died of an acute heart attack after suffering from an illness, according to Australian vet John Hangar.
"She had a very fairly acute heart attack, and thankfully, passed away quietly overnight," Hangar told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "She had been sick yesterday with, in effect, heart failure."
Harriet was one of the main attractions at the Australia Zoo, where TV's "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin and his zoo staff cared for her since 1987. The Australian Zoo claims that in 1835 when she was about the size of a dinner plate, Harriet was taken from the Galapagos Islands by Charles Darwin.
However, many scientists have suggested that Harriet may not have been one of Darwin's pets, because DNA tests have shown that the giant tortoise belonged to a subspecies found on an island that the British explorer never visited.
Whether or not she was ever in Darwin's presence, Harriet was one of the last living creatures to live through the major moments of modern history.
With her date of birth calculated to 1830, Harriet was born while Andrew Jackson was president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated when she was 35. She lived through several of the major wars in recorded history, including the Civil War and both World Wars. She was already 82 years old when the Titanic sank in 1912, and Pearl Harbor was attacked as Harriet reached 111.
"The second you tell people Harriet's age they just fall in love with her," keeper Kelly Jackson said last year. "When you look at Harriet, you are looking at history."
Harriet, mistaken as a male for over a century and named Harry, hatched on the Galapagos Islands and traveled the globe before eventually settling at the Australia Zoo, where she remained during the last 17 years of her life.
When she died Thursday night, Harriet was 330 pounds, about the size of a large dinner table and the star attraction at the Australian Zoo. With only 15,000 tortoises left in the Galapagos and three of the original 14 subspecies now extinct, she gave biologists a unique insight into the potential longevity of giant tortoise species. <<
Harriet in 2002.
>> Harriet (circa 1830–June 23, 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise (probably Geochelone nigra porteri) that had an estimated age of 176 years old at the time of her death, making her the oldest known living animal in the world.
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 Galápagos Islands that Darwin never visited.
For over a century, Harriet was actually mistaken as a male, and thus named Harry.
For 99 years she lived at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens in Queensland, Australia, but was later moved to the Australia Zoo, owned by The Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin, where she lived out the remainder of her life.
On November 15, 2005, her much publicised 175th birthday was celebrated at the Australia Zoo.
She died peacefully in her enclosure on June 23, 2006 of heart failure following a short illness. <<
ABC NEWS:
>> By ANGIE GANGI
June 23, 2006— Harriet the tortoise, one of the world's oldest living creatures with links to famed naturalist Charles Darwin, has died in Australia at age 175.
The giant Galapagos tortoise died of an acute heart attack after suffering from an illness, according to Australian vet John Hangar.
"She had a very fairly acute heart attack, and thankfully, passed away quietly overnight," Hangar told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "She had been sick yesterday with, in effect, heart failure."
Harriet was one of the main attractions at the Australia Zoo, where TV's "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin and his zoo staff cared for her since 1987. The Australian Zoo claims that in 1835 when she was about the size of a dinner plate, Harriet was taken from the Galapagos Islands by Charles Darwin.
However, many scientists have suggested that Harriet may not have been one of Darwin's pets, because DNA tests have shown that the giant tortoise belonged to a subspecies found on an island that the British explorer never visited.
Whether or not she was ever in Darwin's presence, Harriet was one of the last living creatures to live through the major moments of modern history.
With her date of birth calculated to 1830, Harriet was born while Andrew Jackson was president of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated when she was 35. She lived through several of the major wars in recorded history, including the Civil War and both World Wars. She was already 82 years old when the Titanic sank in 1912, and Pearl Harbor was attacked as Harriet reached 111.
"The second you tell people Harriet's age they just fall in love with her," keeper Kelly Jackson said last year. "When you look at Harriet, you are looking at history."
Harriet, mistaken as a male for over a century and named Harry, hatched on the Galapagos Islands and traveled the globe before eventually settling at the Australia Zoo, where she remained during the last 17 years of her life.
When she died Thursday night, Harriet was 330 pounds, about the size of a large dinner table and the star attraction at the Australian Zoo. With only 15,000 tortoises left in the Galapagos and three of the original 14 subspecies now extinct, she gave biologists a unique insight into the potential longevity of giant tortoise species. <<
Harriet in 2002.
