Avatars of the tortoise: life, longevity and simulation

No one knows for certain, but it is thought these giant tortoises live over 200 years in the wild. By way of illustration, a fully grown giant tortoise from Madagascar (G. radiata) was presented to the Queen of Tonga by Captain Cook in the 1770s. This tortoise died in 1966. It is entirely possible, on your visit to the Galápagos, that you may meet one of the same tortoises who greeted Charles Darwin a mere 161 years earlier – perhaps the slow, patient one he rode like a pony, whooping with joy. http://www.terraquest.com/galapagos