A 'Crash Helmet' For Timmy The Tortoise

Looking at this gentle giant, one would never believe that it could be involved in a fight. However, if zookeepers at the Paignton Zoo in Devon are to be believed, not only did it get into a huge fight with another gentle giant, but also has a big hole to prove it.

While nobody knows how or when it happened, Timmy whose official name is '91', suddenly showed up one morning with a big gaping hole in his giant shell. Since it will take the tortoise almost 18 months to re-grow the shell, zoo officials knew they had to come up with an idea to cover it, so that Timmy would not get infected.

Using a similar-sized tortoise, they made a mold of the injured area with plaster of paris. With that they built a fiberglass shell-substitute and stuck it onto Timmy's shell with heavy-duty duct tape. So far, the naughty tortoise seems quite happy with his crash helmet.

Timmy is a member of the endangered Aldabra tortoise species which are indigenous to the Aldabra Atoll, a raised coral island that forms part of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. He arrived at the zoo in 1986, the size of a fist ball. Today, he weighs in at a whopping 153 kg (300 lbs) and could grown as big as 227 kg (500 lbs) during his lifetime, which could span as long as 100 years.

Aldabra tortoises, among the largest species of tortoise in the world, are mainly herbivores. Since there is very little water available in their natural habitat, the animals have adapted to getting most of their moisture from their food. While they are normally quite slow, they are capable of moving at a fast pace, especially if there is a treat involved. The most famous Aldabra tortoise is Mzee, the giant tortoise who made headlines after befriending Owen an orphaned hippo at an animal sanctuary in Kenya. The two remain fast friends till today!

Sources: telegraph.co.uk, dailymail.co.uk, metro.co.uk, wikepedia.org