The last elephant turtle. Lonesome George is the world's most famous turtle. See what "Lonesome George" is in other dictionaries

Lonesome George is the last tortoise of a subspecies of giant reptiles native to the Galapagos Islands. He was kept in captivity for a long time, which probably caused his sudden death. Lonely George passed away on June 24, 2012. On the day of death, the animal was only 100 years old, which is very young for turtles of this species.

Who was Lonesome George?

There is an assumption that this individual was the last representative of the subspecies of Abingdon elephant tortoises, which previously inhabited the islands of the Galapagos archipelago. He was considered a symbol of environmental activities. After death, the body was embalmed and placed as an exhibit on display. On the stand, he looks proud, with his head held high. To some extent, this can be regarded as a mockery, because it was people who brought this subspecies to complete extinction over a meager 100-300 years by geological standards. Of course, if we talk about the practical side of the matter, then everything was done correctly. After all, now this is the only opportunity to see what these reptiles looked like.

The Lonesome George elephant tortoise was biologists' last hope for resurrecting this subspecies, but the reptile never produced offspring. This male was called "the most famous bachelor in the world." Unfortunately, a mate was not found for him among the females of related species.

How did the ancestors of the famous turtle live?

The Galapagos Islands were formed from big volcano gradually, one after another. This was several million years ago. The lava islands separated from the raging mountain moved to the southeast at an average speed of 7 cm/year. This was enough to form an archipelago of 16 islands.

The harsh climate and poor soil led to strict natural selection and the formation of endemic species of animals and plants. Among them are giant turtles. The first to notice this was the famous scientist Charles Darwin, who visited these pieces of land. He found that the shells of giant tortoises taken from different islands archipelago, differ in shape.

There is no drinking water there, so to get it, turtles must eat a lot of grass. This circumstance could be the reason for the lack of predators, so they had no natural enemies.

In addition to turtles, the island is home to other unique species - iguanas, endemic birds and reptiles.

The barbaric acts of "Homo sapiens"

The islands were once inhabited by a huge number of giant one and a half to two meter turtles. The weight of these animals was several hundred kilograms. They prospered because there was always plenty of food. The first settlers began to use the meat of reptiles (and even their young) for food. Pieces of shell served as frying pans. Since they had meat on them, it was very convenient. Soup was made from small turtles. Their meat was considered very tender. There was no other acceptable food on the islands.

IN a huge number turtles were taken out on ships, where they were also used as food. Sailors called them “live canned food” because these animals survived for a long time without food or water.

However, the greatest damage to the islands occurred after the relocation of goats and pigs. They quickly multiplied and began to threaten many island species, putting them on the brink of extinction, because they quickly ate grass - the main food of the clumsy reptiles. Pinto Island was the hardest hit, with no giant tortoises left at all.

In order to save unique species, a program for the restoration of turtles and other rare animals of the archipelago began in 1974. By that time, about 30-40 thousand goats were already roaming around it. They all had to be removed from there, and this required enormous effort. It wasn't until 2009 that all goats were removed from Galapagos Islands.

As a result of these actions, the number of giant tortoises began to grow again, increasing from 3 thousand in the 70s of the 20th century to 20 thousand today.

However, the subspecies to which Lonesome George belonged (Abingdon elephant turtle), it was not possible to save it. Its representatives were destroyed 150 years ago. However, some scientists continue to fight for this species.

Is it possible to restore Abingdon tortoises?

In 2007, researchers found reptiles very genetically close to the famous George. This happened on Isabella Island. It is believed that one of their closest relatives could be the Abingdon elephant tortoise. A total of 17 reptiles with a similar genome were found. Scientists have conducted many experiments, but so far their efforts have not been successful.

The story of Lonesome George is a vivid example of how carefully we need to treat what we have.

Early on Sunday morning, June 24, perhaps the most famous tortoise in the world, a Galapagos tortoise named Lonesome George, died. Together with George, an entire subspecies of giant reptiles, which once inhabited the Galapagos Islands in large numbers, but were exterminated by people in just a hundred years, disappeared from the planet.

Background

The first of the many islands of the Galapagos archipelago was formed about 5-10 million years ago. Its “parent” was a volcano: the material that makes up the island is solidified lava. Following the first island, a second, third, and so on formed - now the group includes 16 large islands and many small formations. The archipelago is located in the area of ​​the Galapagos Rift - a transverse fault in the earth's crust, which manifests itself as constant ejections of lava. This volcanically active zone is called the Nazca Plateau, and it is slowly moving to the southeast at a speed of about seven centimeters per year. Accordingly, older islands move away over time, giving way to younger ones.

Moving away from the place of their formation, the islands are slowly covered with vegetation, although rather sparse in comparison with mainland regions located at the same latitude - that is, almost on the equator. But relative poverty flora is more than compensated by its uniqueness. There are practically no sources of fresh water on the islands, and the climate there is very cool, so the plants that dared to gain a foothold in the Galapagos had to develop a fair number of adaptations to the harsh conditions.

Island animals also differ markedly from their relatives by " mainland" - the vast majority of species living in the Galapagos are endemic, that is, unique to this particular place. Remaining on the islands, quadrupeds and birds received a bleak landscape, a harsh climate and often a very poor choice of food, but they saved themselves from countless predators of the mainland.

Story

George's ancestors appeared on one of the smallest islands of the Pinta archipelago a long time ago. The giant tortoises - the length of the dorsal shield of their shell reaches one meter or more - had no natural enemies on the Galapagos, so they reproduced for their own pleasure and roamed freely around the island, eating lush grass. The slow-moving, bony-plated reptiles were so numerous that the islands were even named after them - the Spanish word "galapago" refers to a species of aquatic turtle.

While we were at the top of the island, we ate exclusively turtle meat. The fried breast part of the shell with the meat remaining on it is very good, and the babies make an excellent soup. But in general, turtle meat, to my taste, is nothing special.

The island idyll remained unchanged for thousands of years, until one day, which was no different from the others, people appeared on the island. They quickly realized that turtles were not able to defend themselves from enemies, and since there was no other food for Pinto, they quickly mastered cooking various dishes from turtle meat. Sailors hunted not only adult turtles, but also hatchlings, from which they made a very tender soup.

A little later, people decided to colonize the Galapagos and, in order to make life on the uncomfortable islands more pleasant, they brought domestic animals with them. This turned out to be a fatal decision: while the pigs simply trampled down the grass, the goats ate it at such a speed that entire turtle families died of starvation. There were also dogs who did not dare to attack turtles, but who took great pleasure in catching unsuspecting iguanas. Gradually, giant tortoises on Pinta Island became less and less common until they disappeared completely.

Several more decades passed, and when it seemed that the island was completely lost, the situation suddenly changed for the better. Similar processes occurred on the neighboring islands of Pinto, and although due to their larger size the consequences there were not as catastrophic, it became obvious to ecologists that the Galapagos Islands needed to be saved, and urgently. To prevent the transformation of a unique nature reserve into a lifeless desert, in 1974 a large-scale program was launched on the archipelago to restore the turtle population. Scientists have also tried to save other endemic animals.

To stop the destruction of the islands, it was necessary to first get rid of goats and other introduced species. In 1959, fishermen brought with them only three herbivores: a male and two females. By 1973, more than 30 thousand individuals already lived on the island. The extermination of the goats that had bred on the archipelago required a lot of effort from ecologists: this task was finally completed only in 2009. During the impact phase, more than 80 thousand animals were collected and over six million dollars were spent.

At the same time, the researchers, as best they could, restored the number of turtles on the islands. As a result of their efforts, the number of giant reptiles has increased from 3 thousand in 1974 to 20 thousand today.

The present

But for the subspecies Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni, to which Lonesome George belonged, the story, alas, was over forever. At the beginning of the Galapagos Islands restoration program it was believed that C. n. abingdoni became extinct, but in 1972 (according to other sources, in 1971), the Hungarian biologist Jozsef Vagvolgyi noticed a characteristic silhouette on Pinta Island. The miraculously preserved turtle was placed in a specially equipped enclosure and they began to search for suitable partners for George.

Since other known representatives of the subspecies C. n. abingdoni there were none left, the scientists selected girlfriends for George from the closest possible groups. In the end we settled on two females caught on neighboring island Isabel. For the first 15 years of their marriage, George showed no interest in the ladies, but in 2008, one of the turtles laid eggs. Scientists immediately placed them in an incubator, but, despite all the careful care, not a single cub hatched. A year later, one of George's companions laid eggs again, and again to no avail.

The lonely male no longer tried to leave offspring - perhaps the difference between the two subspecies, insignificant for people, seemed too big for him. In 2011, two females from the island of Hispaniola, belonging to the subspecies C. n. hoodensis- a more thorough analysis showed that genetically they are closer to George than the turtles from Isabella. The new girlfriends remained with the person being rescued until his death, but George did not want to mate with any of them.

The corpse of the last representative of a once numerous subspecies C. n. abingdoni discovered in the early morning of June 24 by the caretaker of the enclosure, who had been caring for the turtle for more than 40 years. Judging by his posture, George was heading towards the watering hole. The exact cause of the animal’s death is still unknown; in the near future, experts intend to conduct an autopsy to understand what happened to it. By the standards of giant turtles, which are believed to live for two hundred years, George was still very young - he was unlikely to be much over a hundred.

Future

Despite the tragedy of what happened, some researchers believe that the subspecies C. n. abingdoni can still be restored. According to some reports, the giant tortoise living at the Prague Zoo is the same species as George. Later, DNA analysis refuted these assumptions, but in 2007, scientists discovered animals on Isabella Island whose genes contained about half of George’s genes. In other words, the turtles found were most likely born from a union C. n. abingdoni with a representative of some other subspecies. And it cannot be ruled out that the parent of the unusual animals has not yet died, which means it is possible to find him.

Lonely George

Lonesome George, photo 2007

George was found by a Hungarian scientist on Pinta Island (a small island in the north of the archipelago, also called Abingdon) in 1972. Named after American actor George Goebel (English) Russian . Theoretically, turtles of this species are able to retain the ability to reproduce at the age of 200 years. Since George's death, the Abingdon elephant tortoise subspecies is considered extinct.

For decades, zoologists tried to obtain offspring from George, but without success. At one time, scientists believed that George was not capable of reproduction at all, but this turned out not to be the case. In May 2007, after a genetic analysis of 2,000 turtles, a female from Wolf Volcano was discovered that was genetically similar to George, was a hybrid, and had George's relative on her father's side, after which hope arose for continuation of the family. Fertilization occurred, but the embryos in the eggs were not viable.

George was often called the most famous bachelor in the world .

Henry Nichols's non-fiction book Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of Herself is dedicated to Lonesome George. famous turtle in the world" (English) Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of the world's most famous tortoise ) .

On June 24, 2012, the body of a unique reptile was discovered without signs of life by the caretaker of the reserve, Fausto Liereno, who had been caring for the turtle for 40 years. Lonely George died at the age of about 100 without siring any offspring. This means the extinction of the corresponding subspecies. . After the autopsy, the turtle will be embalmed and displayed in a local museum so that future generations will have a visual representation of the extinct reptile.

Literature

  • Darevsky I. S., Orlov N. L. Rare and endangered animals. Amphibians and reptiles / ed. V. E. Sokolova. - M.: Higher. school, 1988. - P. 53. - 100,000 copies.

- ISBN 5-06-001429-0

Notes


Sources

Wikimedia Foundation.

    2010.

    This term has other meanings, see Lonely man. A Single Man ... Wikipedia

    Byron, George Noel Gordon- George Noel Gordon Byron. BYRON (Byron) George Noel Gordon (1788 1824), English romantic poet; from 1809 member of the House of Lords. In 1816 he left Great Britain and lived in Italy. In the poem Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage (1812 18), oriental poems (including ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

    - (Byron) (1788 1824), English romantic poet; member of the House of Lords. In 1816 he left Great Britain and lived in Italy. In the poems “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” (1812–18), “The Prisoner of Chillon” (1816), “oriental” poems of the 1810s. (including “Gyaur”, ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

    - (1788 1824) English romantic poet; member of the House of Lords. In 1816 he left Great Britain and lived in Italy. In the poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage (1812 18), oriental poems (including Giaour, Lara, Corsair), philosophical symbolic dramatic... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

    - (Villiers) Duke of Buckingham, English satirist of the Restoration. Born in 1628 and brought up after his father (see the corresponding article) was killed by Felton, along with the children of Charles I. When the revolution began, he left Cambridge,... ...

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    - (George Meredith) outstanding English novelist; genus. in 1828; in his youth he lived for a long time in Germany, studied German literature a lot; later became friends with the Pre-Raphaelites, especially with D. G. Rosetti; has been living almost as a hermit for many years near... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

Kingdom: Animalia.
Phylum: Chordata.
Class: Reptiles (Reptilia).
Order: Turtles (Testudines).
Family: Land turtles (Testudinidae).
Genus: American tortoises (Chelonoidis).
Species: Elephant turtle (Chelonoidis nigra).
Subspecies: Abingdon elephant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni).

WHY IS IT LISTED IN THE RED BOOK

The Abingdon elephant tortoise is one of the most striking examples of the fact that the Red Book is a “living” book. Changes occur every day and perhaps every hour. Scientists do not always have time to quickly monitor what is happening and find a sufficient number of convincing facts. It is clear that by the time this publication is published, Abingdon elephant tortoises will be classified as black-colored EX, an endangered species. As we have already said, when work began on the description of this subspecies, the last representative of the rare taxon was still alive. His name was Lonesome George.

Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island (Abingdon) on December 1, 1972 and taken under surveillance. Last years his life he lived in the Galapagos National Park of Ecuador, at the station named after. Charles Darwin on St. Croix. Here they looked after George well and hoped to get viable offspring from him. Attempts were made several times to cross George with females of other subspecies without success. Although the eggs were laid, none hatched. Scientists believe that George was 90-100 years old at the time of his death. Since these reptiles were long-lived in the animal world and retained the ability to reproduce almost until the end of their lives, during George’s lifetime there was still hope for a successful restoration of the subspecies’ numbers. Researchers will have to carefully test the genetic structure of populations of other related taxa living in the Galapagos Islands. There needs to be real evidence that George was, in fact, “the last of his kind.”

In the 19th century Abingdon elephant tortoises were found in abundance on Pinta Island. The main reason for the disappearance of the subspecies was that almost all the vegetation on the island was exterminated by feral goats. As a result, the turtles have no food resources left. The clumsy and slow reptiles were easy prey for poachers.

By the early 1970s. XX century Only one representative of the subspecies managed to survive. Until the very end, scientists hoped to restore the subspecies and return it to natural environment a habitat. In addition, numerous attempts to regulate the goat population on Pinta Island were ultimately successful, and the island's grass cover was finally restored. Lonesome George was a symbol of the Galapagos Islands and the conservation movement in general. Various celebrities came to visit Lonely George, including Prince Charles and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

The Abingdon elephant tortoise is an endemic subspecies that lived exclusively on desert island Pint as part of the Galapagos Archipelago.

HOW TO FIND OUT

Abingdon elephant tortoises 100% justified the species name given to them - “elephant”. These were real giants, sometimes reaching a body weight of 300-350 kg. Their large, ossified carapace was colored a rich gray-brown. In all turtles, including elephant turtles, the ribs and spine are inseparably fused with the carapace. This system forms a powerful defense for the body. Therefore, the myth that a turtle can leave its “house” has no scientific evidence. The body of the turtles was covered with dry, wrinkled skin. Elephant turtles had a long neck and a relatively small head. Males were almost twice as large as females.

LIFESTYLE AND BIOLOGY

Being cold-blooded animals, turtles crawled out in the morning to bask in the sun. The dark color of the shell helped absorb more sunlight and warm the body better. Then the turtles spent most of their time searching for food. Moving at an average speed of 0.3 km/h, they systematically explored the territory of their native island, hoping to find fresh, juicy grass to maintain vitality. Elephant turtles were distinguished by almost undeveloped hearing, but an excellent sense of smell and good vision.

During the mating season, males staged ritual fights, trying to determine the most important and powerful one. They craned their necks, opened their mouths, and took ritual positions. At this time, as well as at the moment of mating, males could puff and hiss, trying to possible ways express their overwhelming emotions. For oviposition, females went to dry, well-warmed sandy beaches. Sometimes it took them several days to dig a hole about 30 cm deep. Using their hind legs, the female Abingdon elephant tortoise patiently performed complex and serious work. The sex of embryos in these reptiles depends on the temperature of the environment. At lower temperatures, more males are born, and at higher temperatures, more females. Incubation could last from four to eight months. After birth, babies faced many dangers. First of all, they needed to get to the surface and not become victims of birds of prey. Puberty occurred at the age of about 20-25 years.

Elephant tortoises have made enormous contributions to the development of the general theory of evolution. After all, it was precisely them, or rather the external differences of individuals living in different environmental conditions, that Charles Darwin noticed during trip around the world on the Beagle. The fact is that the size and shape of the shell of representatives of different populations of elephant turtles are very different. This made the great scientist think seriously about the influence of the environment on the body.

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I dedicate this post to the memory of Lonesome George, the last representative of a rare subspecies of armored reptiles - the Abingdon elephant tortoise. Lonesome George died yesterday in Galapagos National Park, where he had lived since 1972.
Sad news. An ENTIRE subspecies of the giant elephant tortoise has disappeared from the face of the Earth forever. In nature there are practically no predators for which these reptiles could become prey. Only humans actively destroyed elephant turtles. It is bitter to realize that the true culprit of this tragedy was once again Homo sapience - Homo sapiens!!! You already begin to doubt the latter, analyzing the activities of the human race from its inception to this day. Now we have no choice but to mourn our own sacrifice.

Lonesome George, the last male giant elephant tortoise at the age of one hundred, died in the Galapagos Islands.

The most famous tortoise died in the Galapagos (photo: noblebrute.com)

Lonesome George, the last and only member of the Abingdon elephant tortoise subspecies, died on Sunday, June 24, according to Galapagos National Park officials.

This morning, a park ranger came to check on George, but found that his body was motionless and he was unresponsive to his surroundings. His life has come to an end, said the head of the Galapagos National Park, Edwin Naula.

George was found on Pinta Island in 1972 and since then he has gained the reputation of being the “symbol” of the Galapagos Islands, located in Ecuador.

Thousands of tourists came to Ecuador to see George (photo: noblepride.com)

Every year, thousands of tourists came to the island specifically to admire “the most famous bachelor in the world.”

A book was also written about George - Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of the World's Most Famous Turtle. The author of a popular science book dedicated to a huge turtle was Henry Nichols.

Yana Shebalina, Life News Online
01:23, Monday June 25, 2012
http://lifenews.ru/news/95353

And now we are about to get acquainted with the “biography” of an elephant turtle. So...

The elephant tortoise is a real giant among all representatives of the order. This animal is considered a rare species today due to the fact that at one time it was the only food available to seafarers.
Sailors of the XXVI-XXVII centuries said that countless numbers of elephant turtles were found on the islands of Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion, as well as throughout the Galapagos archipelago. They gathered in huge herds of 2000 - 3000 animals. Ships that sailed to India always stopped near these islands to stock up on elephant turtles. At the same time, several hundred animals were loaded on board at once. For 20 to 30 years, many captains collected elephant turtles for sale. As a result, at the beginning of the 19th century, elephant tortoises remained only in Madagascar and the Galapagos Islands. By the way, the Galapagos Islands were once called the Turtle Islands, and now the elephant tortoise is sometimes called the Galapagos tortoise.

Among the elephant tortoises there are giants that reach a weight of 400 kg and a shell length of more than a meter. In nature there are practically no predators for which these reptiles could become prey. Perhaps only people actively destroyed elephant turtles. And for the same reason, today they are forced to protect the significantly reduced numbers of these reptiles.

The absence of danger to some extent determined the appearance of the elephant tortoise. Its shell resembles a saddle and is wide open at the front. Due to this openness, the elephant tortoise is able to regulate its body temperature in the hot climate of the Galapagos Islands, where it lives. Male elephant tortoises are noticeably larger than females and, due to this size, have always been interesting objects for zoos. But today all subspecies of this animal, of which there are about 16, are included in the IUCN Red List. It is interesting that the elephant turtle sometimes chooses plants that are poisonous to other animals as food. Undoubtedly, this animal can rightfully be called the main attraction of the Galapagos Islands. Charles Darwin noted how interesting it is to observe the behavior of elephant turtles. In particular, he described such unusual feature animal like deafness. The scientist did not explain whether elephant tortoises really have hearing problems, but said that the animal does not hear the steps of a person who meets a tortoise and is following it and is not frightened until the pursuer comes into its field of vision.

Other names

Chelonoidis elephant opus is the name of the elephant turtle species, derived from the Latin. Chelonoidis (genus of land turtles).
Testudo elephant opus – the name is derived from the Latin. Testudines (order turtles) and Testudinidae (family land turtles).
Geochelone elephant opus, Chelonoidis nigra, Geochelone nigra, Testudo nigra – lat. species names in combination with lat. nigra (black), a character referring to the predominantly dark color of the elephant tortoise's shell.
Galápagos giant tortoise, Galápagos tortoise – English. Galapagos tortoise.
The Galapagos tortoise is another well-known habitat name.

Classification

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrates
Class: Reptiles
Squad: Turtles
Suborder: Hidden-necked turtles
Family: Land turtles
Genus: American Land
turtles
Species: Elephant Tortoise
Subspecies: abingdonii (Abingdonian), becki (Rothschild's tortoise), chathamensis (Chatham's tortoise), darvini (Darwin's tortoise), ephippium (Pinzon's tortoise), duncanensis (Duncan's), galopagoensis (Charles Island tortoise), guentheri (Gunther's tortoise), hoodensis ( Hispaniola), microphyes (Isabel), nigrita (Black), phantastica (Fernandina Island tortoise), porteri (Santacruz tortoise), vandenburghi (Vandenburg's tortoise), vicina (Cave), wallacei (Jervis).

Habitat

A rare, in fact, endangered species of elephant tortoises today is preserved only in the Galapagos Islands in Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ecuador ( South America) and also on the territory of Aldabra Island, which is a national park and located in Indian Ocean. The areas inhabited by elephant tortoises are characterized by a hot, dry climate and sparse vegetation. This is mainly sparse grass cover and sparse shrubs and trees. You can meet elephant tortoises in tropical deciduous forests, on shrub plains and savannas, as well as in the lowlands of the Galapagos Islands, covered with solidified lava. In search of fresh water and accessible vegetation, these reptiles are able to climb winding paths leading to volcanic highlands. Female elephant turtles prefer the sandy lowlands of the coast, since it is most convenient for them to lay eggs there, but males climb high on the mountain slopes, because the vegetation there is lush and the air is humid. By the way, elephant turtles living in the lowlands tend to make long journeys in search of sources of fresh water and even trample noticeable paths to them, along which people later found this water.
As already mentioned, 16 subspecies of elephant turtles are known, and their habitat is usually limited to one of the islands. And a hint about which one is often contained in the name of the subspecies. For example, the Abingdon tortoise is found on the island. Abingdon (Pinta), mainly in rocky, rugged terrain where volcanic rocks come to the surface. The Rothschild's tortoise has chosen the uneven, bush-covered northern and western slopes of the Wolf Island volcano. Isabela. The Chatham elephant tortoise is easy to find in the northeastern grasslands of the island. Santa Cristobal. Darwin's turtle is found on the rocks of. San Salvador at an altitude of 200 to 700 m above sea level. Pinzon's turtle lives in narrow grassy areas on the southwestern slope of the volcano. Gunther's elephant tortoises inhabit mountain system Sierra Negro in the southeast of Isabela Island, but also found on dry plains with rare cacti and trees. The habitat of the Hispaniola tortoise is, respectively, the rocks of the island of Hispaniola. Isabelskaya is found within the dry slopes of the Darwin volcano on the island. Isabela. The population of the Black Elephant Turtle settled in the clearings of the island. Santa Cruz and, by the way, is considered the most numerous among all subspecies. The turtles of Fernandina Island live, accordingly, on its volcanic slopes. The Vandenburg elephant tortoise has spread not only along the slopes of the Aldero volcano on the island. Albemarle, but also occupied its crater. And finally, the elephant cave turtle chose the Sierra Azul volcano in the south of the island as its habitat. Isabela.

Description

Elephant turtles are quite slow animals. During the day they travel no more than 6 km. Female elephant tortoises lay 10 to 14 eggs in small holes and do not take any further care of them.

During the day, elephant tortoises are very careful, but at night they pay absolutely no attention to anything, which is why they appear blind and deaf.

We have already mentioned that the elephant tortoise is a giant of amazing size. Its shell can reach 120 cm in length and 60 cm in height. The average weight is 100 kg. And the approximate life expectancy is 150 years. However, the name of the elephant turtle is due not only to its size, but also to its appearance. To support the heavy and massive body, the reptile is equipped with powerful column-shaped legs, indeed, reminiscent of an elephant’s. And her skin on the limbs and neck protruding from under the shell is very reminiscent of the thick rubbery epidermis of an elephant. The upper shield of the elephant tortoise's shell has a special saddle-shaped shape - at the back it drops low and bends slightly upward, and at the front, on the contrary, it is raised high, so that the front legs and the long thin neck of the reptile remain practically unprotected. Males have a longer tail with a distinct pattern.
The different subspecies of elephant tortoises differ mainly in the size and shape of their shell. On this basis, scientists classified them into two groups. The smallest individuals of elephant tortoises live on small, arid islands and have longer, thin legs. Their shell clearly follows the shape of the saddle, and their weight is about 25-50 kg. In areas with a more humid climate, elephant turtles are larger. They have a tall, dome-like shell. Zoologists suggest that thanks to this shape of the carpax, elephant turtles easily penetrate into any plant jungle. On the dorsal shield of these reptiles, a pattern in the form of polygons located inside each other stands out noticeably, by the number of sides of which the age of the animal can be calculated. The elephant turtle is most active during the day, and at night it hides the back part of its body in a hole specially dug for this purpose. The reptile finds salvation from the heat and insects during the day by burying itself in silt or liquid mud.

Elephant turtles feed on plants and drink a lot of water. If there is no water near their pasture, elephant turtles do not go to water every day, but store water in their bladder and consume it as needed.

Since the living conditions of elephant turtles are not the most favorable, they are quite unpretentious in their diet. Most The diet consists of plant foods - leaves of shrubs and grass on volcanic slopes, succulent cacti that replace water for turtles, woody lichens and leaves, low-hanging berries and fruits, aquatic vegetation, algae. The main delicacy for elephant turtles is tomatoes. Living in arid areas, the reptile can go for a long time without water and food. However, if the elephant turtle finds a source of fresh water, it will drink it little by little for a long time, burying itself in the mud in the shallows. Among the plants that elephant tortoises enjoy eating are stinging nettles and various thorny bushes that do not cause them any harm. Animal food for the reptile most often becomes a variety of carrion found.

Many sailors said that elephant turtles sometimes starved on board for up to 18 months, and upon arrival at the port they turned out to be completely healthy and viable. There are cases where elephant turtles lived in captivity for 100 -150 years

In the terrarium, it is recommended to feed the elephant turtle with plant foods. In general, this giant is rarely kept at home; it is more often found in various national parks or zoos. There, a completely balanced diet is created for the elephant turtle, mainly plant-based with a small addition of animal protein.

In order for the mating of elephant turtles to be successful, nature has provided special tricks in the structure of the males. In particular, they have a small recess on the lower part of the shell, which allows them to climb onto the female’s shell and stay on it. If fertilization has occurred, then the female elephant turtle is preparing to lay eggs. Every year she is able to lay eggs in the same pre-selected warm and safe place. Sometimes the female first digs several nests in different places in order to then choose the most suitable one from them. In search suitable place Female clutches often make real trips around the islands. The number of eggs in an elephant tortoise's clutch is approximately 2-20 each year between November and April. Moreover, she puts them in the prepared nest very carefully, insuring them with a special enveloping liquid, and then just as carefully sprinkles them with earth. In the nest, turtle eggs will “mature” for a little more than six months - from June to December. And the hatched elephant turtles will dig up the ground and climb to the surface on their own.

It is not possible to keep a giant elephant tortoise at home due to its enormous size. Most often, these reptiles live in various zoos and southern nature reserves, where spacious enclosures with vegetation and pools are built for them. Elephant tortoises are bred in captivity specifically to increase the numbers of the endangered species. In conditions wildlife under the supervision of people, it is not difficult to create suitable conditions for these reptiles, because the most they need is sun, warmth and the availability of plant food. The most suitable air temperature for breeding elephant turtles should be +28-+33 degrees Celsius.

And in conclusion, a very short video about an elephant turtle

 

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