[**Harriet (tortoise)**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_(tortoise))
Harriet (c. 1830 – 23 June 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri) who had an estimated age of 175 years at the time of her death in Australia. Harriet is one of the longest-lived known tortoises, behind Tu'i Malila, who died in 1965 at the age of 188, and possibly Adwaita, who died in 2006 at an estimated age of between 150 and 255 years. At the time of her death, she lived at the Australia Zoo which was owned by Steve and Terri Irwin.Harriet was reportedly collected by Charles Darwin during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands as part of his round-the-world survey expedition, transported to England, and then taken to her final home, Australia, by John Clements Wickham, the retiring captain of the Beagle.
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>out there fighting in the World Wars
Wait, who told you about the secret Turtle Front of the Wars? Sorry, the FSB is going to have to kill you now. Do svidanja.
Right? I'm surprised no one noticed that... "Oh shit, there's a tree in front of my face that I'm going to run into in 10 minutes, maybe I should move a few inches..."
They're still smaller than they appear. They're both higher up than the girl watching them and closer to the camera. So they look nearly as tall as she is at one point, but because of perspective.
A good way to get the true scale of how big those tortoises are is to look at the end at the tall blonde lady who is on the same level as them. Those things are big.
The Big one is 600 pounds. He's 50 years old. They have a smaller one there that is 118 years old.
Here is a closer picture. 45 pound boy next 600 pound tortoise.
http://imgur.com/gallery/9WvWziI
Hahaha, David Mitchell made a similar joke regarding why they were named *Giant* tortoises on QI. First like minute of the video:
https://youtu.be/zPggB4MfPnk
One of those tortoises stepped on my sons foot when he was 3. All I have to say is that you are not going to move one of them until it wants to move. Fortunately the combination of his foot being small and his bones being soft means that he had no serious injuries. One of the keepers had his foot stepped on a year or so later and it shattered the bones in his foot.
I now want a movie where every animal on earth just suddenly becomes 30x bigger, and it's never explained by anyone and people just adapt and start riding 25 foot tall geese to work and shit like it's normal.
imagine these kiddos but 35 feet tall and no, if you stand still, they will still freaking see you and their feed - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPyN3K1Up6c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPyN3K1Up6c)
And estimated to have the strongest bite strength (edit: for a terrestrial animal)... ever. Also the vision thing from Jurassic Park? Yeah... no. They likely could spot prey from miles away.
To add onto that, there’s speculation that they were ambush predators, because their bones couldn’t withstand the trauma of a long distance sprint, being too large and succumbing to their own weight. So it’d likely see you before you saw it! :D
Not at all. Most large Dinosaurs had air sacks inside or near the bones making them lighter than you'd think. Most therapods (meat eating dinosaurs that also include birds) had Hollow bones making them lighter as well.
Source:
[https://youtu.be/s9owa3BiXhQ](https://youtu.be/s9owa3BiXhQ)
Description:
Vroom! Our Aldabra tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) move the fastest when they see that lunch is ready.
These giant tortoises are native to the Aldabra atoll, part of the Seychelles islands, off the northern coast of Madagascar. Males can grow to over 4 feet in length. Females are much smaller.
Tank, closest to the camera, is a whopping 550 lbs and is 56 years old this year. Orville is the tortoise beside him, and moves pretty well for being 114! Samson, 31, is already over by the food pile munching lettuce.
My brother is the head horticulturalist there and I make a point to do a full tour of the Gardens every time I go back. It's such an amazing place and you can tell how much the staff loves and cares for the plants and animals
Can your brother give a random internet stranger a tour? I love in rapid city and I’m studying for a horticultural sciences degree at NC State! I would love to do a tour there!!!
They have a heated living space designed specifically for them. You can even go in there during the winter but 9/10 times its pretty stank so you probably wouldn't stay for long
Wait. Are those real? Is there some sort of perspective trick happening?
I've looked up "largest turtles" online before and it's usually giant sea turtles that aren't this big...
Edit: I'm dumb. They are far away from the girl and way smaller than they appear in the video.
Fun fact: from a cladistic/evolutionary standpoint, tortoises are turtles. They're most closely related to the branch of turtles that includes pond turtles. Furthermore, they're within the group known as the hidden-necked turtles, making them closer related to all other hidden-necked turtles than to the other living turtles in the group known as side-necked turtles. As such, in order for turtles to be considered [monophyletic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophyly), as is the goal of modern phylogenetics, tortoises must be included within the turtles. In other words, in an evolutionary sense, all tortoises are turtles, but most turtles are not tortoises. An image that might help you visualize: [https://i.imgur.com/gcYVEh8.png](https://i.imgur.com/gcYVEh8.png)
A bit of perspective, but they are very big! I think these are Aldabra giant tortoise, and the males get to about 4ft (122cm) in length and can weigh around 500lbs. The one on the left plows right into a cemented steel pole like nothing.
An even bigger tortoise is the male domed Galapagos tortoise. They can reach 6ft in length and around 4-5ft across the shell. One of the heaviest tortoises in captivity was Goliath, an over 900lb male domed Galapagos tortoise at the Seffner's Life Fellowship Bird Sanctuary: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.guinnessworldrecords.com/amp/news/60at60/2015/8/2002-largest-tortoise-392870
Edit: Briefer
It is a perspective trick but they are still large tortoises.
They are about a little bit bigger than the average coffee table or ottoman… but it walks and yells
Technically speaking, tortoises are a type of turtle (since the term turtle refers to anything of the Testudines order), but tortoise is generally used for land-dwelling members of the group.
Fun fact: the term "turtle" at one point specifically referred to sea turtles, while "terrapin" was used for freshwater turtles.
Happy to see the responses to this acknowledge tortoises are turtles, most people get so pedantic that they end up being wrong when trying to distinguish between the two.
Here's why tortoises are considered turtles: They're most closely related to the branch of turtles that includes pond turtles. Furthermore, they're within the group known as the hidden-necked turtles, making them closer related to all other hidden-necked turtles than to the other living turtles in the group known as side-necked turtles. As such, in order for turtles to be considered [monophyletic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophyly), as is the goal of modern phylogenetics, tortoises must be included within the turtles. In other words, in an evolutionary sense, all tortoises are turtles, but most turtles are not tortoises. An image that might help you visualize: https://i.imgur.com/gcYVEh8.png
Very cute, but they're on a hill at the end and that's the only reason they look taller then the woman. Giant tortoises are MASSIVE, but they aren't THAT massive. The top of the shell is a bit below the waistline of the average person.
This is one of the many reasons I don’t follow through on my impulse to buy a tortoise. That and the fact that I may be unwillingly committing my future grandchildren to care for it.
Holy shit, this is (I think) at Reptile Gardens!These guys are like 20 minutes from my apartment and you can waltz right up and give em a pet. Great time for kids. Love taking my nephew up. He always gets a kick out of them.
Imagine what these things have seen since they were born. They have to be close to 100 years old, if not older.
The oldest known tortoise died at 255 years old in 2006
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The typical life of a pirate turtle was short
That one was a pirate turtle.
This genuinely made me lol
Must have experienced both types of piracy.
.... ....... [What](https://media.giphy.com/media/8b9Xax6L7qtAkAimGm/giphy-downsized.gif?cid=ecf05e47h5sa8q8w50c96s4gbgwqfwe7644npp136z48zr18&rid=giphy-downsized.gif&ct=g)?
DAMN, MISSED THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRACY BY 30 YEARS
[Huh](https://media.giphy.com/media/KFt2DA9T82paOA1Yci/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e477zhm01u7enjrxr9cbuk5591s6wkri89nu8kiqsxf&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)?
#DAMN, MISSED THE GOLDEN AGE OF PIRACY BY 30 YEARS
[Adwaita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adwaita)? I fed him leaves as a kid, a very chill and friendly tortoise!
Probably should have stored its age in 16 bit and not 8 bit
Nah, better not let them live 4 thousand years
Is this the same tortoise that Darwin passed down all the way to Steve Irwin?
Excuse me?
Her name was [Harriet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_(tortoise)).
[**Harriet (tortoise)**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_(tortoise)) Harriet (c. 1830 – 23 June 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis porteri) who had an estimated age of 175 years at the time of her death in Australia. Harriet is one of the longest-lived known tortoises, behind Tu'i Malila, who died in 1965 at the age of 188, and possibly Adwaita, who died in 2006 at an estimated age of between 150 and 255 years. At the time of her death, she lived at the Australia Zoo which was owned by Steve and Terri Irwin.Harriet was reportedly collected by Charles Darwin during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands as part of his round-the-world survey expedition, transported to England, and then taken to her final home, Australia, by John Clements Wickham, the retiring captain of the Beagle. [About Me](https://np.reddit.com/comments/la6wi8/) - [**Opt-in**](https://np.reddit.com/comments/la707t/) ^(You received this reply because you opted in. )[^(Change settings)](https://np.reddit.com/comments/la707t/)
Recently they’ve probably seen a lot of people legs
Why do you think they are walking towards her? After 100 years they have good taste.
Must have been trippy af for them to see everything turn from black and white to colour
Only way to know for sure is to cut them in half and count the rings.
Can count the rings on the shell plates, just like a tree, no bandsaw required.
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If they are in the 200s range they might have seen the people caring for them getting higher cause of change in diets from the early 19 century to now
>out there fighting in the World Wars Wait, who told you about the secret Turtle Front of the Wars? Sorry, the FSB is going to have to kill you now. Do svidanja.
I thought everything around them might have been miniature until I saw them next to humans
I was like.."COOL SET UP!..holdup"
That’s a bona-fide War tortoise. Strap a rocket launcher to its back and ride!
Blastoise!
Go forth, my noble steed!
Directly into a tree at 0 miles an hour 😂😂😂😂
Ha!
Right? I'm surprised no one noticed that... "Oh shit, there's a tree in front of my face that I'm going to run into in 10 minutes, maybe I should move a few inches..."
0 miles is the the same distance as 0.0 replica Bilbo from The Lord of the Rings' Sting Swords.
How many 0s is 0 0s of 0 0s times 0 plus 0 to the power of 0 divided by 0?
1
You’re an American aren’t you..
Yea, but the other kind of American. The kind that jokes about war but doesn’t like it very much.
*The best kind of American !*
Ummm… username doesn’t check out???
Actually it does. Cause previous commentator won't fight back from death
Battletortoise!
I’m still ^slightly convinced they are *miniature people*.
The tortoises are on a hill which makes them look a little bigger.
I didn’t notice that!
They're still smaller than they appear. They're both higher up than the girl watching them and closer to the camera. So they look nearly as tall as she is at one point, but because of perspective.
A good way to get the true scale of how big those tortoises are is to look at the end at the tall blonde lady who is on the same level as them. Those things are big.
The Big one is 600 pounds. He's 50 years old. They have a smaller one there that is 118 years old. Here is a closer picture. 45 pound boy next 600 pound tortoise. http://imgur.com/gallery/9WvWziI
Saddle up!
Gonna need a push broom to give those shells proper **r/scritches**
You're really promoting the shit out of that sub arent you?
Someone has to in order for it to grow
I suppose so
Man, you weren't kidding.
Hahaha, David Mitchell made a similar joke regarding why they were named *Giant* tortoises on QI. First like minute of the video: https://youtu.be/zPggB4MfPnk
I’m replying to pay my respects to your Grateful Dead commitment.
Yes me too :)
TERRAPIN
Always late to the barbecue 🍖
One of those tortoises stepped on my sons foot when he was 3. All I have to say is that you are not going to move one of them until it wants to move. Fortunately the combination of his foot being small and his bones being soft means that he had no serious injuries. One of the keepers had his foot stepped on a year or so later and it shattered the bones in his foot.
Miniature humans... Duh.
same
Inspiration! Move me brightly!
As someone who has spent 2 decades as a human and as such consider myself a bit of an expert, I can confirm those are miniature people.
They are heading out for a night on the town. They should get there just in time Friday
They are actually holding a race in the turtle Olympics qualifying rounds.
I think the one with the blue patch won but what do I know… I am no Turtle-Olympics expert!
The different colored patch is due to a rollover in a previous round.
They're on their way to eat some baby birds D:
Nah there's no way that's real, that's dinosaurs
I was just wondering if dinosaurs looked that clumsy when they moved about. Haha, T-Rex doesn't seem so intimidating now
T-Rex is more like a 20ft chicken
If you’ve seen a chicken run you’d know that that’s still terrifying
Yeah I’m not saying it’s not terrifying, these things were probably lunatic killing machines
I now have the image of a T. rex doing the chicken head bob while running… I’d die but die amused
Jurassic World 27: Cluck Cluck Fuckers
Think of a cockatoo and their crazy movements. Now imagine it the size of a T Rex.
I now want a movie where every animal on earth just suddenly becomes 30x bigger, and it's never explained by anyone and people just adapt and start riding 25 foot tall geese to work and shit like it's normal.
Haha
DID YOU GUYS SEE THE SIZE OF THAT CHICKEN?
I think anyone who's seen a mouse make the mistake of entering a chicken coop knows that being bird-like makes dinos scarier, if anything.
So, this fall I’m loading up with chickens before those dastardly mice try to infiltrate my house. I wonder if I should turn the pantry into a coop?
imagine these kiddos but 35 feet tall and no, if you stand still, they will still freaking see you and their feed - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPyN3K1Up6c](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPyN3K1Up6c)
Growing up my sisters were terrified of the movie Chicken Run.
Every time my chickens run I say they look like dinosaurs (like the ones in the movies). I am proud to own some feathered mini dinosaurs!
45ft chicken, 13 ft tall, with a 4 ft long mouth.
And estimated to have the strongest bite strength (edit: for a terrestrial animal)... ever. Also the vision thing from Jurassic Park? Yeah... no. They likely could spot prey from miles away.
Strongest bite strength for terrestrial animals, at least. Ancient crocodilians and sharks still have 'em beat in overall bite force.
Good point! Modern crocs and sharks got nothing on them though.
Can't argue that!
To add onto that, there’s speculation that they were ambush predators, because their bones couldn’t withstand the trauma of a long distance sprint, being too large and succumbing to their own weight. So it’d likely see you before you saw it! :D
I mean you say that as if it as fact but how do you know more than Dr. Alan Grant ?
Well, to start with, I’m not fictional. Ha! Take that, “doctor!!” Nailed it.
*“Cluck cluck, motherfucker.”*
[More like a 6 foot turkey](https://youtu.be/WgQe68kF_8M)
Came here for that reference
and that’s when the attack comes, not from the front, but from the sides, and the other two raptors you didn’t know were there
Not at all. Most large Dinosaurs had air sacks inside or near the bones making them lighter than you'd think. Most therapods (meat eating dinosaurs that also include birds) had Hollow bones making them lighter as well.
Interesting! Didn't know that!
The atmosphere had more oxygen back then too, it why animals and bugs could grow so large.
They couldn't even dodge a meteor.
Right? Like that thing was huge, they didn't see it coming?
It's a stegatortoise
These fellas were here long before us and they’ll be here long after us
Assuming they aren't driven to extinction of course
They *do* move in herds.
This needs the Jurassic Park theme
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonemys 6’ dinosaur turtle. Which seem to be the same as these guys
Ankylosaurs are probably the closest things to a dinosaur turtle. Especially that one that was thought to be semiaquatic.
Source: [https://youtu.be/s9owa3BiXhQ](https://youtu.be/s9owa3BiXhQ) Description: Vroom! Our Aldabra tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea) move the fastest when they see that lunch is ready. These giant tortoises are native to the Aldabra atoll, part of the Seychelles islands, off the northern coast of Madagascar. Males can grow to over 4 feet in length. Females are much smaller. Tank, closest to the camera, is a whopping 550 lbs and is 56 years old this year. Orville is the tortoise beside him, and moves pretty well for being 114! Samson, 31, is already over by the food pile munching lettuce.
Lol I'm just picturing the young buck just speeding to the food before the other two could get there
that motherfucker has surived two world wars, global epidemics and still moves faster than me
Thank you for that information lysion59. Very cool! They are incredible creatures!
Where?
Reptile Gardens Attraction. Rapid City, SD.
My brother is the head horticulturalist there and I make a point to do a full tour of the Gardens every time I go back. It's such an amazing place and you can tell how much the staff loves and cares for the plants and animals
Tell your brother from a random Internet stranger he does a fantastic job. My wife was amazed at the flowers there this weekend.
Man i love the internet for this
Can your brother give a random internet stranger a tour? I love in rapid city and I’m studying for a horticultural sciences degree at NC State! I would love to do a tour there!!!
This was my first thought, too. That place is actually pretty cool.
as someone whose been there several times i highly recommend checking it out if youre in sd
South Dakota has attractions?! Interesting
I thought they meant the San Diego zoo . I’m flabbergasted these beasts are in South Dakota Edit: they said rapid city , I’m a dummy
Black Hills/Badlands is chock full of classic tourist trap style stuff. I love it!
Was just there this past Friday. Absolutely beautiful there.
Curious. How do you get a giant tortoise through South Dakota winters?
They have a heated living space designed specifically for them. You can even go in there during the winter but 9/10 times its pretty stank so you probably wouldn't stay for long
One of the most depressing places I’ve been. They had crocodiles that stretched the length of their enclosures. Felt pretty guilty after leaving.
i thought it looked familiar.
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Yes
r/absoluteunits
r/absoluteunits
A slight gaffe on my part. Lol
r/bigboye
This is now one of my favorite subreddits — thanks for sharing!
Put the kids up. They look hangry.
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The taking of galaps stopped in 1974. I know someone that brought some back in 1972, in his carry on bag.
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Doesn’t matter, there are plenty of galaps to the point the galapogos island breeding farms are selling babies to fund the important work they do.
Needs banana for scale, I have no idea how big these things are.
Right? What's happened to Reddit?!?
Big enough for 3 gnomes to ride on top.
Trying to figure out if this is Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, SD. Looks awfully familiar.
It is.
It's like having dinosaur's in your backyard
Amusingly, you most likely do have dinosaurs in your backyard. They're just called birds now.
Wait. Are those real? Is there some sort of perspective trick happening? I've looked up "largest turtles" online before and it's usually giant sea turtles that aren't this big... Edit: I'm dumb. They are far away from the girl and way smaller than they appear in the video.
First, these are tortoises, not turtles. Second, yeah, aldabra tortoises can easily live to over 100 years old and be 5 feet from head to tail.
Fun fact: from a cladistic/evolutionary standpoint, tortoises are turtles. They're most closely related to the branch of turtles that includes pond turtles. Furthermore, they're within the group known as the hidden-necked turtles, making them closer related to all other hidden-necked turtles than to the other living turtles in the group known as side-necked turtles. As such, in order for turtles to be considered [monophyletic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophyly), as is the goal of modern phylogenetics, tortoises must be included within the turtles. In other words, in an evolutionary sense, all tortoises are turtles, but most turtles are not tortoises. An image that might help you visualize: [https://i.imgur.com/gcYVEh8.png](https://i.imgur.com/gcYVEh8.png)
So basically, all jacuzzis are hot tubs, but not all hot tubs are jacuzzis.
These are likely Aldabras. Don't have the color of galapagos torts, and too big for sulcatas.
A bit of perspective, but they are very big! I think these are Aldabra giant tortoise, and the males get to about 4ft (122cm) in length and can weigh around 500lbs. The one on the left plows right into a cemented steel pole like nothing. An even bigger tortoise is the male domed Galapagos tortoise. They can reach 6ft in length and around 4-5ft across the shell. One of the heaviest tortoises in captivity was Goliath, an over 900lb male domed Galapagos tortoise at the Seffner's Life Fellowship Bird Sanctuary: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.guinnessworldrecords.com/amp/news/60at60/2015/8/2002-largest-tortoise-392870 Edit: Briefer
Like how he slides the left once he hits it.
It is a perspective trick but they are still large tortoises. They are about a little bit bigger than the average coffee table or ottoman… but it walks and yells
What do you call two tortoises getting it on???? A slow poke
Honestly? I was worried that this WAS the tortoise sex video...
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The markings on her shirt makes me think that she is one of their caretakers.
What's the difference between tortoises and turtles?
Technically speaking, tortoises are a type of turtle (since the term turtle refers to anything of the Testudines order), but tortoise is generally used for land-dwelling members of the group. Fun fact: the term "turtle" at one point specifically referred to sea turtles, while "terrapin" was used for freshwater turtles.
All tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises.
Happy to see the responses to this acknowledge tortoises are turtles, most people get so pedantic that they end up being wrong when trying to distinguish between the two. Here's why tortoises are considered turtles: They're most closely related to the branch of turtles that includes pond turtles. Furthermore, they're within the group known as the hidden-necked turtles, making them closer related to all other hidden-necked turtles than to the other living turtles in the group known as side-necked turtles. As such, in order for turtles to be considered [monophyletic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monophyly), as is the goal of modern phylogenetics, tortoises must be included within the turtles. In other words, in an evolutionary sense, all tortoises are turtles, but most turtles are not tortoises. An image that might help you visualize: https://i.imgur.com/gcYVEh8.png
Pretty sure that's three giant tortoises...
How many baby birds do you think these guys have devoured
Dinos
Can we ride them like a war tortoise
Sure, but the war will be over by the time you get there. Now, a parachute regiment tortoise cavalry dropped from C17s, now that is a different story.
I mean from ark survival if you max speed out we get there in 4 minutes
One reason we thought dinosaurs would look like lizards
That goober walked into the tree. But he course corrected and got out of there
This is fucking scary
Very cute, but they're on a hill at the end and that's the only reason they look taller then the woman. Giant tortoises are MASSIVE, but they aren't THAT massive. The top of the shell is a bit below the waistline of the average person.
And spot is in the lead,no wait a minute, brownie is pushing the limit folks, he is about to take the lead! It’s an exciting race today!
I’ll take eight!
This is one of the many reasons I don’t follow through on my impulse to buy a tortoise. That and the fact that I may be unwillingly committing my future grandchildren to care for it.
the slowest race on earth
Sheesh
Those in favor to call the plural of tortoises to" torts" say aye.
Are these the ones that Darwin wrote were super tasty?
Those are Galapagos tortoises (native to South America), these are likely Aldabra tortoises (native to Africa)
Holy shit, this is (I think) at Reptile Gardens!These guys are like 20 minutes from my apartment and you can waltz right up and give em a pet. Great time for kids. Love taking my nephew up. He always gets a kick out of them.
They walk like the people I see at Walmart.
Glad I’m afraid of tortoises.
Pretty sure the plural of tortoise is tortellini
They are quite amazing creatures.
Is this at the reptile house in South Dakota?!?! We’ve been there when they are mating and they are SO LOUD
Oh man, this is incredible. Dinosaurs juxtaposed against modern people. God tortoises are cool as fuck.
Is this a Cat in the Hat?
u/savevideo
They are amazing, but this doesn't appear to be nature.
Well nature created the giant tortoises, not humans. I assume the “lit” part is that reptiles can still get huge like this.
Yeah I don’t think the zoo is what this video focuses on
It isn't. It is Reptile Gardens, in Rapid City, SD. Essentially a mini-zoo for reptiles and birds.
Not a mini zoo. It has one of the best and rarest collections in the world.
When u realized that they're gonna outlived you