Yahoo news is reporting that Harriet, the world's oldest tortoise, has died aged 176
Harriet was collected by Darwin on the Beagle voyage in 1830, when she was about 2 inches. She found her way to Brisbane, where I currently live, and was allowed to roam the Brisbane botanical gardens, but ignorant and nasty folk would put their cigarettes out on her carapace, which is covered in skin and nerve endings, so she was taken into a zoo and found her way to Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo, about 100kms north of Brisbane, where she was a favourite attraction. I got to touch her there, whice set off a family dispute about whether my Darwin number was 1 (number of nodes between him and I) or 2 (number of vertices). It is still a matter of dispute in the family.
The Yahoo report is below the fold.
Harriet, the world's oldest tortoise, dies aged 176Fri Jun 23, 6:33 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - A 176-year-old giant tortoise believed to have been studied by famed English naturalist Charles Darwin, has died in Australia after a short illness.
The extremely elderly tortoise, Harriet, was hatched on the Galapagos Islands in 1830 but lived out her final years at Australia Zoo in southeast Queensland where she was the star attraction.
Senior veterinarian John Hangar said the 150-kilogram (330-pound) reptile died on Thursday night after a short illness.
"She had been sick yesterday with, in effect, heart failure," Hangar told ABC radio.
"She had a fairly acute heart attack and thankfully passed away quietly overnight."
Hangar said Harriet, who had made it into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's oldest living animal, had been credited with helping Darwin pioneer his theory of evolution.
"It's thought she may have been taken off there (Galapagos) by Charles Darwin," he said. "She's spent a period of time in Britain and found herself at the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane from about 1850 or 1860 onwards and eventually she found her way up to Australia Zoo."
Harriet was originally named Harry, as she was mistakenly identified as male, an error which was not rectified for more than a century.
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Does this mean it's no longer turtles all the way down now, just most of the way?
The NewScientist of 11 September 2004 had an article by Paul Chambers that was sceptical about the claim that Darwin has ever seen Harriet and also about the claim that Harriet has visited Britain. According to him, an analysis of the mitochondrial DNA of Harriet has shown that Harriet came from Santa Cruz, whereas the tortoises on the Beagle were collected from Española, Santa Maria and San Salvador islands
Arno! No! You just ruined whatever number it is I had in connection with Darwin!
At least I get to go to Downe House in a couple of weeks...
Don't worry. There is always the possibility that Harriet saw Darwin from here hide when the Beagle sailed along Santa Cruz. If that doesn't count, Chambers suggests that Harriet might have been brought to Australia by John Wickam, a shipmate of Darwin, who picked her up from a passing whaling ship. (I hope this does not spoil your excuse to visit Down House ;-) -- Have a good time!)