Giant Tortoise

I think these big guys are good because they look so old and wise. And take life nice and easy.

Here are some pictures of Giant Tortoises looking amazing...

A giant tortoise at a mud wallow on Volcan Alcedo in the Galapagos Islands.

Scientists have successfully reintroduced giant tortoises to a Galapagos island where the species once teetered on extinction.

Recently the Galapagos Islands have been removed from the Unesco endangered list! Hooray!

Here is a close up of 'Lonely George' who is the last known Pinta Giant Tortoise, who are native to only one island in the pacific. He is the last of the species and has been labelled the rarest creature in the world.

Poor George.

Here is when i met one of these amazing creatures in Singapore !

Above are some pictures of Galapagos Giant Tortoises

Here is a picture of a Galapagos Giant Tortoise with a new born. Seventy may seem rather old to be reproducing, but the Galapagos tortoise doesn't reach sexual maturity until it is 25.

Mating can occur at any time during the year, and the female tortoise can produce between two and 16 tennis ball-sized eggs, which she buries in a 1ft deep nest.

They then incubate for around 130 days. Unusually, temperature can effect the gender of the hatchlings. A low nest temperature means they are likely to be male, while a hot, stuffy nest is more likely to produce females.

However, it is impossible to determine the sex of a Galapagos tortoise until it is 15 years old.

Growth will occur slowly over the next 40 years, at which point the tortoises reach full size. Their large shells add to their impressive appearance and act as a shield against predators.

This magnificent armour is actually a bone, and a crucial part of the tortoise skeleton. However, it does slow them down, as they have an average speed of only 0.18mph.

No one knows why the Galapagos reptiles are so large, but it's possible that a lack of predators on the South American islands meant they evolved free from danger.