Harriet

Harriet is an ancient tortoise at the Australia Zoo, a Queensland zoo famous as the home base of Steve Irwin, the star of The Crocodile Hunter. Believed to have been born in 1830, she is the oldest known animal alive today.

Her birthdate is based partially on the story that Harriet was first captured by Charles Darwin in 1835 on the Galapagos Islands. As the tortoises were then dinner plate sized it is estimated they would have been six years old.

There is some doubt as to the accuracy of this story, however Darwin did catch three tortoises and took them home to Britain aboard HMS Beagle. In 1841 the three returned to the Beagle and were brought to the Australia botanical gardens in Brisbane. In the 1920s the records on the animals were destroyed in a flood and as Harriet moved between zoos any link between her and the famed naturalist was forgotten. It was not until 1992 that testing determined she was a tortoise of the Galapagos Islands and was over 142 years old.