Adwaita

Adwaita was a very special tortoise that lived in the Alipore Zoological Gardens in Kolkata, India. He was an Aldabra giant tortoise and was thought to be one of the oldest animals in the world when he passed away in 2006. People believed Adwaita may have been around for more than 250 years!

There is a story about how Adwaita might have come to live with Robert Clive at his home in Barrackpore. Clive was a leader who won a battle called the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Some say he received four tortoises after that, and Adwaita might have been one of them. However, this part of the story has not been proven.

In the late 1800s, around the years 1875 or 1876, Adwaita was moved to the Alipore Zoo by Carl Louis Schwendler, the person who started the zoo. Adwaita stayed there until he passed away on March 22, 2006. His very long life made him famous around the world.

Description

Adwaita was a very big tortoise. He weighed 250 kg (551 lb). He lived alone and had no babies. He ate wheat bran, carrots, lettuce, soaked chickpeas, bread, grass, and salt.

Age

Adwaita the tortoise passed away on March 22, 2006, after his shell cracked and he got an infection. Many people think Adwaita was about 255 years old when he died, though this is not certain. If true, he would have been the oldest tortoise ever known, older than other famous tortoises like Harriet, Tu'i Malila, and Jonathan.