Aldabra Giant Tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea)

Feb 6, 2024

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Context (DTE): Aldabra giant tortoises have returned 600 years after they were wiped out to the wild in Madagascar.
The Aldabra Giant Tortoise is the second-largest species of land tortoise in the world, after the Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra).
Habitat: It lives in open grassy areas with trees and bushes or scrub, and swampy mangroves.
Physical description:
- They are dark gray to black in color with a highly domed, thick carapace.
- Aldabra tortoises are sexually dimorphic, meaning that there are differences in appearance between males and females.
- Males are considerably larger than females and have longer, thicker tails.
Distribution: They are found on Aldabra Island. They were apparently introduced to Mauritius and the Reunion Islands.
Diet: They are grazers and browsers, feeding mainly on grasses and woody plants. They may also eat faeces.
Aldabra tortoises can reach ages of over 150 years.

Aldabra is the world’s second-largest coral atoll, lying southeast of the continent of Africa.
It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles.

An atoll is a ring-shaped coral reef, island, or series of islets.
Corals are the skeletons of tiny marine animals called Polyps. When the Polyps die, their skeletons remain, and other Polyps grow on the hard skeleton.