Get it? Shellfies? Selfies? Oh....I crack myself up! That's just shell-arious!!!
Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos for five weeks in 1835 and saw Galápagos tortoises noting "these animals grow to an immense size ... several so large that it required six or eight men to lift them from the ground." They appeared several times in his writings and journals, and played a role in the development of the theory of evolution.
Today we went hunting for wild tortoises! These creatures are royal shellebrities on the islands. Wearing a fashionable pair of rubber boots, we slogged through the muddy highlands of Santa Cruz Island to find us a tortoise (not a turtle!). After spotting 8-10 tortoises on our walk....we finally saw it! The biggest dude of the day! We were shell-shocked!!!
The Galapagos tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise and the 14th-heaviest living reptile. The tortoises' gigantism was probably a preadapted condition for successful colonisation of these remote oceanic islands. They can survive up to six months without food or water. And, like Jenesa....they can nap for up to 16 hours each day!
Unfortunately, one question still remains.....if a tortoise loses its shell is it naked or homeless?
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