Goodbye to a Legendary Tortoise
Harriet, a 330-pound tortoise, dies at age 176
A 176-year-old giant tortoise named Harriet died Friday at a zoo in Australia. Harriet, who weighed around 330 pounds, died of heart failure. Harriet's owner, Steve Irwin, hosts the Animal Planet network's popular show The Crocodile Hunter. Irwin and his wife, Terri, mourned Harriet's death. "She is possibly one of the oldest living creatures on the planet and her passing today is not only a real loss for the world but a very sad day for my family," Irwin said.
The Tortoise's Tale
Harriet was believed to be the world's oldest living tortoise and one of the oldest living creatures on earth. But despite her remarkably long life, Harriet was not the world's oldest known tortoise. That title is held by Tui Malila, a Madagascar radiated tortoise who lived to be 188 years old. Tui Malila died in 1965 and earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records in the category of Oldest Chelonian.
Harriet, however, may have another claim to fame. Though historical records can't prove it, she is believed to be one of three tortoises taken from the Galapagos Islands by scientist Charles Darwin. Darwin made his historic visit to the islands, off the coast of Ecuador, in 1835 on his ship, the HMS Beagle. Legend has it that he took Harriet, at the time only five years old and no larger than a dinner plate, from the Galapagos to Britain. She spent a few years in Britain before relocating to Australia. For a time, Harriet was mistaken for a male tortoise and called Harry.
Harriet will be missed by her owners and her adoring audience at the Australian zoo. "Harriet has been a huge chunk of the Irwin family's life," Irwin said, the day after her death. "She was a grand old lady."
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