Aldabra tortoise

African animals

Reptiles

The Aldabra tortoise is a real beast, growing to over one metre in length and weighing up to 250 kg. It is also one of the most long-lived vertebrates as they can live to be around 200 years old. They are most active during the morning hours when they search for food and during the hottest hours of the day they rest in burrows to cool off. Aldabra tortoises can stand up on their hind legs and stretch to reach branches with good leaves, but they risk dying if they tip backwards as they cannot turn round if they fall on their backs.

The Aldabra tortoise is an endemic species, which means that it only occurs naturally in a limited geographical area. This limited distribution makes the species very sensitive to disturbance and today there is increasing interest in the conservation of this fascinating species. On the island of Mauritius, a conservation project has been running for a long time and the project's Aldabra tortoises are now living freely in the national park. There are also plans within the European Zoo Association to start an organised breeding programme for the species.

Project: Monitoring

CITES B