D O D O D I S PAT C H
A D AY I N T H E L I F E O F …
ZORBA
Hello! My name is Zorba and I am a radiated tortoise. I have been living at Jersey Zoo since 1976, but I hatched and grew up in Madagascar where we are known as Sokatra. My keepers think my age is around 100 years old, making me the oldest animal in the zoo! I have seen many changes since I first arrived at Jersey Zoo together with Gerald Durrell, who brought me here, and have seen many animals come and go in that time. From 1999 to 2001 I lived in the Amphibian and Reptile House where I was kept in a large family group as part of a breeding program. I have lived most of my zoo life in the tortoise paddocks where my current neighbours are two young Galápagos tortoises, who are only 11 years old and almost twice my size! They are quite a rowdy pair and keep my keepers on their toes because they try to climb into my side of the house and eat my food. My other neighbours are three much younger radiated tortoises and five European adders. Each year, the other tortoises and I are kept indoors over winter so that we don’t get too cold. Our keepers make sure the house is nice and warm and that all our special heaters and lights are working throughout winter so we can sunbathe indoors. In spring I am allowed outside when it’s sunny and I love watching the male adders “dance”
at this time of year. I can understand why they dance in spring because they are kept in cold brumation (which is the reptile version of hibernation) for half the year. I’ve been told by my keepers that the adders “dance” to see which male is the strongest to impress the females. My favourite time of the year is summer when I’m allowed to go outside almost every day and I get to eat lots of grass in the sunshine. Even though I am the oldest animal in the zoo I am always the last tortoise to go inside at the end of every day, simply because I enjoy walking around my garden and watching the world go by. All in all I am very content with life because I have a nice house, a large garden and delicious food. My keepers also check that I am happy and healthy every morning, afternoon and evening. I especially love when my keepers give me a good scratch on my shell, it’s just like a massage in all the places I can’t reach. Another one of my favourite things to do is to step in my water bowl and make it dirty straight after my keepers clean it so that I can get some more attention!
ISSU E 1 • 2019 WILD LIFE
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