Galapagos Turtle exhibit, SD Zoo

2920 Zoo Dr

About

The renovations of the Galapagos Tortoise exhibit at the Zoo reportedly cost more than a million dollars, but they're not the dramatic sort (like last year's Elephant Odyssey revamp). The big reptiles can now lumber into shallow pools of water, and their visitors can learn about them from upgraded signage. Some of the jacaranda trees that once shaded the enclosures have been removed (a sad thing for the tortoises, as they reportedly loved munching on the flowers) and have been replaced by some striking succulents. According to the Union-Tribune's report on the upgrade, the rockier, more barren look more closely replicates conditions in the animal's native habitat and may help make them physically fitter. Not that the zoo's 17 tortoises (the largest collection in North America) are suffering. Some have lived here since 1928, and the oldest resident is estimated to be 130 — merely middle-aged for a species whose lifespan can exceed 170. But it's been 9 years since the Zoo has had a successful hatching. Officials are hoping the new tortoise "barn" and other changes could work some reproductive magic.

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