106, but still an eye for the ladies

IN the spring a young chap’s fancy turns to thoughts of love.

And Admiral knows how that feels. Admiral the tortoise at Mitchell Park Zoo in Durban has a spring in his step as his 106th birthday approaches. As the flowers come into bloom in the park Admiral has also been raising the temperatures of the three female tortoises who share his pen.

Mitchell Park Zoo curator Joanne Marais said despite his age, Admiral, an Aldabra tortoise native to the Seychelles, remained a busy boy with the ladies.

“Admiral is very active, which is incredible. People from all over the world come to visit. We have a New Yorker who comes every year and brings him lettuce leaves,” said Marais.

There are plans for a big fruit cake to be made up for Admiral’s birthday.

His diet consists of a variety of fruit and veg, and he often has a hankering for hibiscus and mulberry leaves.

Despite his swagger for the ladies, Admiral may be getting a bit of a creak in his joints and Marais said they were raising funds to have underfloor heating for the winter.

“We want a proper enclosed room as a sleeping area, with a roof and floors which have heating underneath. During winter, tortoises slow down and sleep a lot.”

But now the temperatures are warming up, Admiral can be found cooling off in the pond.

“He loves lying in the water and puts his head under the water for more than a minute,” said Marais.

Admiral is believed to be the country’s oldest tortoise. He was dropped off at the park in a cigarette box in 1915 by a naval officer who was leaving for the World War I battlefront. He asked the zoo to keep his tortoise safe until his return, but he never came back. Admiral has gone on to become one of Durban’s key tourist attractions over the last century.

But while Admiral may be regarded as one of the oldest tortoises in the world, he is still a spring chicken compared with the current record holder, Jonathan the Tortoise on the island of St Helena who has reached the ripe old age of 184.

Last year Jonathan received his first bath ahead of a royal visit to the tiny island. His caretaker Dr Joe Hollins described the process: “We gave him a good scrub as we are expecting a royal visitor who is going to meet him so we want him to look his best.

“He looks so much cleaner and he seemed to enjoy the whole experience.

“Jonathan stood like a statue when I was washing him. I don’t know whether it was the vibrations he found soothing or he was thinking ‘at last, I’ve had my first bath.’”