Harriet (tortoise)
Harriet (formerly Harry; c. 1830 – 23 June 2006) was a Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis niger, specifically a western Santa Cruz tortoise C. n. porteri) who had an estimated age of 175 years at the time of her death in Australia. Harriet is one of the longest-lived known tortoises, behind Tu'i Malila, who died in 1966 at the age of 188 or 189; Jonathan, who remains alive at an age of 191, and possibly Adwaita, who died in 2006 at an estimated age of between 250 and 255 years. At the time of her death, she lived at the Australia Zoo which was owned by Steve and Terri Irwin.
Harriet at the Australia Zoo | |
| Species | Galápagos tortoise |
|---|---|
| Sex | Female |
| Hatched | c. 1830 Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands |
| Died | 23 June 2006 (aged 175–176) Beerwah, Queensland, Australia |
| Known for | Collected by Charles Darwin |
| Residence | Australia Zoo |
Harriet was reportedly collected by Charles Darwin during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands as part of his round-the-world survey expedition, transported to England, and then taken to her final home, Australia, by John Clements Wickham, the retiring captain of the Beagle. However, doubt is cast on this story by the fact that Darwin had never visited Santa Cruz, the island that Harriet originally came from.