FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 28, 2014
CONTACT:
Andi Norman, Director of Public Relations
419.385.5721 ext. 2098 or [email protected]
Ed. note: R. Andrew Odum, curator of herpetology and assistant director of animal programs, will be
available for interviews today (Thursday, Aug. 28), from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Media filming opportunities
will depend on weather and the tortoise’s needs.
Galapagos Tortoise Arrives at Toledo Zoo
Toledo, OH – Galapagos tortoises are returning to the Toledo Zoo for the first time in over a
decade.
Emerson, a male tortoise approximately 100 years old and weighing about 400 pounds, arrived
from San Diego Zoo late on Aug. 27 and is scheduled to be on exhibit at the Zoo’s Tiger Terrace
area.
The species is native to the Galapagos Islands, near Ecuador off the western coast of South
America. Galapagos tortoises can live for 150+ years, with males measuring up to 6 feet long and
weighing as much as 500 pounds (females are smaller).
This species was among the animals that Charles Darwin observed when he traveled to the
Galapagos Islands in 1835. The information Darwin gleaned from that trip helped shape his
resulting theory of evolution by natural selection, which has become the cornerstone of modern
biological science.
While the species is thought to have numbered in the tens of thousands before pirates and whalers
started hunting them, four of the Galapagos tortoise’s 14 subspecies are now extinct. The surviving
species face competition for resources from non-native animals that humans have introduced to
the islands; although few animals could kill a full-grown tortoise, many animals eat the tortoises’
eggs, which decimates reproduction rates. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature
and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable.
Through Aug. 31, the Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission); starting Sept. 1, the Zoo will be open on
weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on weekends from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Zoo is located on the Anthony Wayne Trail
(US 25), four miles south of downtown Toledo. For more information, please visit toledozoo.org or call 419.385.4040. Lucas
County residents are admitted free of charge on non-holiday Mondays from 10 a.m. to noon. ID showing proof of residency is
required.
The Toledo Zoo is committed to inspiring others to join us in caring for animals and conserving the natural world. As part of
that mission, the Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), a leader in global wildlife conservation.
AZA member institutions are dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for visitors and a better
future for all living things.
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