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A 250 kilogram 45-year-old Galapagos tortoise called Smiley is on holiday at Ti Point Reptile Park after a serious case of sibling rivalry.
Galapagos tortoises are the largest tortoises in the world and one of the longest-lived invertebrates.
Smiley is one of four Galapagos tortoise in New Zealand, which are all usually on display at Auckland Zoo.
Park owner Ivan Borich says he has been separated from his two sisters and brother, Willy, as part of the zoo’s breeding programme.
“The males can get quite aggressive with one another, so they separate them when they attempt breeding.
“Inbreeding isn’t a big issue as they will never be released back to the Galapagos. It’s about increasing the population in New Zealand.”
It is the second time the park has had a Galapagos tortoise, as Willy was at the park for about three years, but left two years ago.
“They have quite distinct personalities. Willy was much more temperamental. Smiley is very mild mannered. He’s a nice tortoise.”
Smiley is most active on warm days, but even then he takes things quietly. Despite his size he has a modest appetite, mainly eating carrots, oranges and cactus.
It takes four people to lift him, but he is no giant by tortoise standards. They can weigh 300 kilos and live over 170 years, making him just a youngster.
He is expected to go back to Auckland Zoo before winter.
Ivan started the park about 50 years ago and now has more than 400 animals, including about 100 native lizards, three alligators and two capuchin monkeys.
There are 10 surviving subspecies of Galapagos tortoise, with animals on different islands of the archipelago evolving different shell shapes to allow them to reach the different kinds of plants on each island. These distinctions were observed by Charles Darwin when he visited the Galapagos in 1835 and contributed to his development of the theory of evolution.
Possibly the world’s most famous tortoise, Lonesome George, was the last surviving member of tortoises from the Galapagos island of Pinta. When he died in 2012 it was the end of his subspecies. Generally Galapagos tortoise numbers are strong thanks to recent conservation efforts.
