smartcybers786@gmail.com 
#Factcheck #photo #oldest #tortoise #Africa
A photo that has garnered thousands of shares on Facebook and Twitter claims to show Africa’s oldest tortoise, who recently died at the age of 344. But the photo actually shows a giant Galapagos tortoise in an Australian zoo, nowhere near as old.
One of the posts, which we have saved. HereWith the caption, the picture shows a giant tortoise stretching its neck, ‘A 344 year old tortoise known as ALAGBA in the palace of the Son of Ogbomosu. The scared tortoise, which was Africa’s oldest, had been ill for days before his death on Thursday.’ This post has been shared over 200 times on Facebook.
I also shared the same picture. This The Facebook post, which similarly claims it depicts the famous Algaba. The same photo claiming to be the world’s oldest turtle is also circulating in French, which has been shared more than 6,000 times. Here on Twitter and over 1,600 times Here On Facebook
The wrong turtle
The tortoise, known as Alagba, died last month at the palace of the traditional ruler of Ogbomosu in southwestern Nigeria, as reported by AFP on October 5, 2019. ‘Although zoologists doubt that the tortoise could have reached such an old age, its royal owners say that Algaba, which means old man, lived in the palace for centuries.’ AFP reported..
A Google image search for ‘Algba’ shows that a The picture And Video of the famous turtle posted on the Ogbomoso community website and YouTube account. The images suggest that the animal is much smaller than the image shared thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter.
Where did the image of the giant tortoise come from?
As for the image of the giant tortoise, a reverse image on Google shows that it was published on Australia’s Daily Telegraph news website. Essay On April 30, 2014, two Galapagos tortoises were born at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in New South Wales, Australia.
The Galapagos Tortoise is native to the islands of the same name in the Pacific Ocean. The largest species of turtles in the world, according to National Geographic, up to 1.5 meters (five feet) tall.
We checked out the Daily Telegraph article by visiting the zoo. Website And follow its official link. Instagram page, where we find the same image of a giant tortoise in a Post From 30th April, 2014. “Taronga Western Plains Zoo continues its Galapagos Tortoise breeding success, welcoming two new hatchlings!” reads the caption. “Hatchings will take 20-25 years to reach their full size and can live up to 150 years!”
“Our photo shows the little pair with a three-year-old hatchling, NJ and one of our adult males,” it added.
Contacted by AFP, a spokesperson for the Taronga Western Plains Zoo confirmed that the giant tortoise in the photo is the zoo’s Galapagos tortoise known as ‘A11’.
“The turtle in the photo is still alive today and would be in his 50s. They can live up to 150 years,” he told us via email.
A 344-year-old turtle?
As noted in the AFP article about Algaba’s death, experts doubt that the Nigerian tortoise could have reached 344 years of age.
“The maximum age of a turtle is over 100 years, but the average age is less. A turtle that looks ancient,” Craig Stanford, a professor of biological sciences and anthropology at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, told us via email. He is often only 30-40 years old.
“You can say a tortoise can live to 150, but usually much less,” added Stanford, whose 2010 book The Last Tortoise is about the extinction threats facing the species.
According to Guinness World Recordsthe oldest living turtle is believed to be Jonathan, a Seychelles giant tortoise that lives on the South Atlantic island of St. Helena. At least 187 years old – although no one knows for sure – Jonathan’s age is estimated from the fact that he was “fully grown” when he arrived on the island in 1882 (and therefore at least 50 years) was called He is currently listed by Guinness as the oldest living land animal as well as the oldest turtle.
