Conservation Status: Vulnerable
🌊 Can float across oceans and survive at sea for months—one tortoise even washed ashore in Africa from the Indian Ocean.
📏 Second-largest tortoise species, with shells reaching over 48 inches and males weighing more than 500 pounds.
⚖️ Males are significantly larger than females, a trait known as sexual dimorphism.
⏳ Exceptionally long-lived, often surpassing 100 years; one individual lived to be over 190 years old.
🏝️ Adapted for island life on the remote Aldabra Atoll, where they graze in dry, open habitats.
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Aldabra tortoises spend much of their time grazing on plants and flowers. While they are generally slow-moving, they can traverse long distances over rugged, rocky terrain. To avoid extreme heat, they often retreat to mud wallows, where they cool off and rest.
Primarily herbivorous, Aldabra tortoises feed on a wide variety of plants and flowers. On rare occasions, they have been observed consuming carrion, showcasing their opportunistic feeding behavior.
Aldabra tortoises are native to a few small islands and atolls in the Seychelles, located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa.
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With their habitat limited to a few small islands, Aldabra tortoises are classified as vulnerable. Conservation efforts are crucial to protect their dwindling populations and fragile ecosystems.
