Yesterday the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announced the death of Tim the tortoise.

From The Associated Press:

CLEVELAND (AP) — A male tortoise believed to be at least 100 years old has died at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
The zoo on Wednesday said the Aldabra tortoise named Tim weighed about 400 pounds and his shell measured 43 inches in length.
Zoo Curator Geoff Hall tells the Plain Dealer the animal was found unresponsive in cold-weather quarters he shared with two other tortoises — Tom and Terry. They were brought to the zoo in 1955 from eastern Africa.
The zoo plans an animal autopsy to determine what caused the death.
The zoo says Aldabra tortoises, vegetarians, are native to islands off the east coast of Africa and routinely live to be over 100 years old.

I'm certain I saw him and his friends during my visit to the zoo last summer. I thought those Aldabra tortoises are pretty impressive with their enormous size, but now even more so that I know how long they live.


-- Cheryl Sadler | CSadler@News-Herald.com | @nhcheryl