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Revision as of 07:27, 17 June 2006
Harriet (born circa 1830) is a Galápagos tortoise (probably Geochelone nigra porteri) that has an estimated age of 175 years old, making it the oldest known living animal in the world.
It was originally thought that Harriet was first captured by Charles Darwin in 1835 on the Galápagos Islands. As the tortoises were then dinner plate sized, it is estimated they would have been six years old. However, the story regarding Darwin is most likely apocryphal. Though Darwin caught three tortoises and took them home to Britain aboard the HMS Beagle, genetic tests indicate that Harriet belongs to a sub-species endemic to one of the Galapagos Islands that Darwin never visited.
For over a century, Harriet was actually mistaken as a male, and thus named Harry.
For 99 years she lived at the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, but now resides at the Australia Zoo, owned by The Crocodile Hunter's Steve Irwin.
On November 15, 2005, her much publicised 175th birthday was celebrated at the Australia Zoo.