Aldabra giant tortoise Geochelone gigantea
The name of this tortoise refers to the island of Aldabra in the Seychelles, where they come from.
Just like other land tortoise species, the Aldabra giant tortoise is a true herbivore and a grazer. It is capable of systematically grazing its habitat bare.
The Aldabra giant tortoise in a nutshell
- eats
- plants and fruits
- inhabits
- the Seychelles
- excels at
- surviving
Large, larger, largest
There is no getting past the fact that the Aldabra giant tortoise is quite enormous. The shell of a male can reach 1.2 metres in length; more than twice as large as an average land tortoise. This makes the Aldabra giant tortoise the largest land tortoise in the world. Due to their great weight, activity is sometimes very exhausting, so they often rest during the day. This does not mean they are sluggish! They can move quite fast when they want to.
Female leaves the nest
The female lays four to 14 rubbery eggs, only half of which are fertile, in a shallow, dry nest. Like other tortoise species, the Aldabra giant tortoise does not care for the nest or young; after laying the eggs, the female leaves the nest. The hatching of the eggs is temperature-dependent, taking place after 110 days at high temperatures, and after 250 days at low temperatures. The young tortoises dig themselves out of the nest and move out into the world independently.
Early conservation
During the seventeenth century, sailors were often at sea for months. Whenever they landed anywhere en route, they would haul kilos of food on board. Sailors on the Indian Ocean mainly caught giant tortoises, resulting in a rapid decline in the numbers of these land tortoises. Fortunately, authorities declared the giant tortoise habitat to be a protected area, making the Aldabra giant tortoise one of the world’s first protected species.
The Aldabra giant tortoise has been adopted by Kramer Staaltechniek B.V., Greenlink and Meijers.