Addwaita, a tortoise of great renown

THE giant tortoise Addwaita, thought to be one of the world’s oldest creatures, that died in a Calcutta zoo last week was one of four tortoises brought to India by British sailors from the Seychelle islands as a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company.

Lord Robert Clive, a famous 18th century British military officer, was instrumental in establishing British colonial rule in India, before he returned to England in 1767. Addwaita’s life spanned much of modern Indian history.Local lore said the Aldabra tortoise, whose name means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was some 250 years old.That would have made him much older than the world’s oldest documented living animal: Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane, according to the zoo’s Web site.She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.Calcutta zoo officials, however, insist Addwaita was far older.The zoo wants to carbon date his shell to determine exactly how old he was.Addwaita arrived in the zoo in 1875.Aldabra tortoises come from the Aldabra atoll in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean, and often live to more than 100 years of age.Males can weigh up to 250 kilogrammes.- Nampa-APAddwaita’s life spanned much of modern Indian history.Local lore said the Aldabra tortoise, whose name means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was some 250 years old.That would have made him much older than the world’s oldest documented living animal: Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane, according to the zoo’s Web site.She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.Calcutta zoo officials, however, insist Addwaita was far older.The zoo wants to carbon date his shell to determine exactly how old he was.Addwaita arrived in the zoo in 1875.Aldabra tortoises come from the Aldabra atoll in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean, and often live to more than 100 years of age.Males can weigh up to 250 kilogrammes.- Nampa-AP