Dribble
06-24-2006, 04:56 PM
SYDNEY, Australia - A 176-year-old tortoise believed to be one of the world's oldest living creatures has died in an Australian zoo.
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The giant tortoise, known as Harriet, died at the Queensland-based Australia Zoo owned by "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. Irwin said he considered Harriet a member of the family.
"Harriet has been a huge chunk of the Irwin family's life," Irwin said Saturday. "She is possibly one of the oldest living creatures on the planet and her passing today is not only a great loss for the world but a very sad day for my family. She was a grand old lady."
Senior veterinarian Jon Hanger told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday that Harriet died of heart failure.
Harriet was long reputed to have been one of three tortoises taken from the
Galapagos Islands by Charles Darwin on his historic 1835 voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.
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The giant tortoise, known as Harriet, died at the Queensland-based Australia Zoo owned by "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin and his wife Terri. Irwin said he considered Harriet a member of the family.
"Harriet has been a huge chunk of the Irwin family's life," Irwin said Saturday. "She is possibly one of the oldest living creatures on the planet and her passing today is not only a great loss for the world but a very sad day for my family. She was a grand old lady."
Senior veterinarian Jon Hanger told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday that Harriet died of heart failure.
Harriet was long reputed to have been one of three tortoises taken from the
Galapagos Islands by Charles Darwin on his historic 1835 voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.