Adwaita (meaning "one and only" in Sanskrit) (c. 1750 – 23 March 2006) was the name of a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India. He was the oldest living animal in Kolkata.
"Historical records show he was a pet of British General Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago." It is said that the Aldabra torto...
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Adwaita (meaning "one and only" in Sanskrit) (c. 1750 – 23 March 2006) was the name of a male Aldabra Giant Tortoise in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata, India. He was the oldest living animal in Kolkata.
"Historical records show he was a pet of British General Robert Clive of the East India Company and had spent several years in his sprawling estate before he was brought to the zoo about 130 years ago." It is said that the Aldabra tortoise was a gift to Clive from the British seafarers who captured the tortoise from the Seychelles Islands. Reports show that Clive had four such tortoises in his villa in Latbagan at Barrackpore, in the suburbs of Kolkata. Three of the animals died, while Adwaita was transferred to the Alipore zoo in 1875 by Carl Louis Schwendler, the founder of the zoo. Adwaita had lived in his enclosure in the zoo until his death in 2006.
Weighing 250 kgs. (550 lb.), Adwaita was a bachelor. There are no records of his progeny or liaisons. He lived on a diet...
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