Two critically endangered Seychelles giant tortoises have been relocated to a new home after the world’s oldest zoo built them a brand new enclosure.
The two reptiles, reportedly aged 70 and 120, will now be free to bask in the sunlight after Schoenbrunn Zoo officials created a special desert house to match their natural habitat.
Footage shared by the zoo in Vienna, Austria, showed zookeepers carrying the two tortoises to their new home, where they slowly began exploring their fresh surroundings.
Zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “On 270 square metres, the animals find ideal conditions.
“These include sunny and shady areas, various natural soil structures with diverse topography, naturalistic planting, and multiple feeding stations.
“A large water basin with a shallow shoreline for animal-friendly entry and exit has also been modeled, as they like to doze in the water for hours.”
The new enclosure features a rock niche made of lava stones that provides shelter during rain or extreme heat which can be heated if necessary.
This, according to the director, allows the tortoises to use the outdoor space for a few weeks longer during the autumn transition period.
Approximately 40 tonnes of lava stones from Pauliberg in Burgenland were used, also serving as a natural boundary for the enclosure.
It also includes a ramp that allows the tortoises to move freely between the outdoor and indoor areas, where they have access to a water section.
The indoor space is housed in a historic greenhouse, built by Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1904, to shelter his collection of Australian and South African plants.
Hering-Hagenbeck added: “The relocation not only brings an exciting new feature and improvement for our tortoises but also benefits our visitors.
“From now on, the zoo’s annual pass will also include access to the Desert House. Day guests can purchase a new combination ticket for both the zoo and the Desert House.
“This allows visitors to see not only the tortoises but also many other animals living in the Desert House, including naked mole rats, lesser hedgehog tenrecs, and black-tailed rattlesnakes.”
Seychelles giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) are listed as critically endangered on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species.
They inhabited the large central granitic Seychelles islands, but were hunted in vast numbers by European sailors. Fewer than 100 individuals remain in the wild.
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Georgina Jedikovska, Agency: Newsflash
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