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The famous Galapagos giant tortoises could be at serious risk from mosquitoes that have developed a taste for reptile blood, experts have warned. Scientists say increased tourism means there is now a greater risk of a disease-carrying insect being transported to the islands. Local mosquitoes that have evolved to feed on reptiles could then pick up the diseases and pass them on. Galapagos wildlife has little immunity to mosquitoes due to their isolation. The study was published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 'Looking for blood' The world's largest living tortoises are an icon of...

Paleontologists say a 75-million-year-old turtle fossil uncovered in southern Utah has a clutch of eggs inside, making it the first prehistoric pregnant turtle found in the United States. At least three eggs are visible from the outside of the fossil, and ...studying images taken from a CT scan in search of others inside. the turtle was probably about a week from laying her eggs ...

He is the last of his kind, and despite a sudden interest in the opposite sex at the grand old age of 90, it seems Lonesome George may stay that way. After stunning conservationists by mating for the first time in decades, the giant tortoise from the Galapagos islands still may not become a father. George, a conservation marvel and one of the world's rarest creatures, mated this year with two females, but 80 percent of the eggs they laid appear infertile.

REMAINS of a mysterious "creature" washed up on a Long Island beach have set websites in United States abuzz with speculation about its origins. Hot on the heels of new claims from an ex-NASA astronaut about aliens visiting Earth, news of the find has excited conspiracy theorists around the world. Dubbed the Montauk Monster after the Long Island town where it was found, the creature has prompted speculation it was part of a secret mutant breeding program undertaken by the US Government. The Huffington Post has even given the creature its own blog.

An unknown creature that washed up on the beach in Montauk, New York, has been dubbed the "Montauk Monster" and captivated the American imagination. Speculation about the identity of the Montauk Monster is rampant. Many skeptical Americans believe that the Montauk Monster a publicity stunt. The most conspiracy-minded are sure the Montauk monster is detritus from a sinister government operation. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-operated Plum Island animal testing facility is nearby, fueling the belief that the USDA is responsible; some would see the Montauk Monster as a hideous USDA experiment gone wrong while others might consider it...

Bo (woof) In Commentary: When I think dangerous, things like knives, guns and chocolate come to mind. The last thing I would think about is a tortoise, and apparently that oversight is what could get me killed. Check out the most dangerous turtle in Britain. (If you see this tortoise, do not approach him. He may be unarmed but he is certainly dangerous. Rupert, who has attacked children and dogs, is on the run after escaping through a hole in a fence.) I can see why a behemoth tortoise would take down a few kids, for they are generally loud,...

Mayor Giuliani left the gate early, sprinting towards the finish line off in a distance. Thompson waited, plotted and planned, leaving the gate last, well behind all others in the race, seeming completely unconcerned with the dashing hare, as he methodically set one foot firmly ahead of the other. Is it the tortoise and the hare all over again? Both candidates are a bit long-in-the-tooth. Both have fought and conquered cancer. Both have been qualified leaders within their party. Both have strong base support and both have the capacity to be a good executive. But each has a different strategy...

VENTURA, Calif. - A 42-pound pet tortoise that was slashed and mutilated after being stolen from a family's yard is home following more than a month in a rehabilitation center. The tortoise, Bob, heartily ate a meal of hibiscus flowers and roses — its first since having a feeding tube pulled from its neck, owner Dorothy Sullivan said Friday."He's eating like a pig," she said. "He's doing great and we're pretty excited."The 25-year-old African spurred tortoise was snatched from Sullivan's yard on July 7. Police, following an anonymous tip, found the injured animal behind an apartment complex several days later.The...

'Clive of India's' tortoise dies Adwaita's shell will be carbon-dated to prove his age A tortoise that once belonged to British colonial general Clive of India in the 18th Century has died in a zoo in Calcutta. Adwaita, "the only one" in Bengali, was found dead by keepers in Alipore Zoo on Wednesday. His shell cracked some months ago and a wound had developed. West Bengal officials said records showed Adwaita was at least 150 years old but other evidence pointed to 250. The shell of Adwaita, an Aldabra tortoise, will now be carbon-dated. Forestry minister in the West...

Adwaita, the nearly 255-year-old giant tortoise that roamed the Alipore Zoo here, has died. The Aldabra-Seychelles tortoise had not been well for the past few days. It was found dead by zookeepers Wednesday when they went to his enclosure with medicine. 'He had developed a wound on his chest. He was not keeping well. We were keeping a close watch on him,' West Bengal Forest Minister Jogesh Burman said, mourning the death of Adwaita, meaning the peerless one or the only one. In deference to his more than two-and-half-century's existence, this grand old resident of Kolkata was named Adwaita by...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Tortoise mystery solved By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - While offers rolled in Tuesday to give a found giant tortoise a good home, the animal turned out to be dead. Meanwhile, the mystery of how the turtle ended up in the Capital City was solved. Terri Smith discovered the tortoise Sunday morning while walking her dog behind Sapp Bros. Big C Truck Stop on Interstate 80 Service Road. On Tuesday, Max McCartney said he bought the tortoise in Dallas three years ago before moving to Denver and then to Cheyenne. The tortoise, named Le Pew,...

It's not easy being green Many questions arise about a giant tortoise found in Cheyenne: Is it OK, and exactly how did it get here? By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - Terri Smith said she was walking her dog behind Sapp Bros. Big C Truck Stop on the Interstate 80 Service Road when she made her discovery Sunday morning. At first she thought it was a big rock or a pile of dirt that her dog, Bud, was sniffing. After a closer look, though, she realized it was a giant tortoise. She said the tortoise...

Certainly the oldest inhabitant in The Crocodile Hunter's Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, and surely the oldest inhabitant on the Australian continent, Harriet is a giant Galapagos land tortoise, collected by Charles Darwin on his famous Voyage of the Beagle. With her date of birth calculated to 1830, she's well into her 18th decade now, although she has some way to go to surpass Darwin's gift of a tortoise to the King of Tonga that lived to 189! Steve Irwin (TV's Crocodile Hunter) and his Zoo staff have cared for Harriet since 1987, prior to which she had been...

Last Updated: Thursday, 6 January, 2005, 17:01 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version Odd couple make friends in Kenya Mzee and Owen have become firm friends despite the age gap A baby hippo rescued after floods in Kenya last week has befriended a 100-year-old tortoise in Kenya. The one-year-old hippo calf christened Owen was found alone and dehydrated by wildlife rangers near the Indian Ocean. He was placed in an enclosure at a wildlife sanctuary in the coastal city of Mombasa and befriended a male tortoise of a similar colour. According to a park official, they sleep together,...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to ban off-road vehicles across more than a half-million acres in Southern California to protect the desert tortoise. The injunction, issued last week by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, was praised by environmentalists who said it sent a message to the Bush administration and public land agencies that wildlife habitat must be protected. The ban affects portions of two large desert wildlife areas in Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties. The land is marked with washes popular with off-roaders but considered by environmentalists critical...

We all know about Aesop's allegorical race between the tortoise and the hare. This week we're seeing a state Legislature as dilatory as the former and as alacritous as the latter. The Assembly is dragging its feet on a measure that would repeal some very questionable -- and very expensive -- pension benefit increases granted to 3,200 state workers by former Gov. Gray Davis. "All of this was the result of buying Gray Davis," Sam McCall, who in 2002 was an attorney for the California Union of Safety Employees, told The Sacramento Bee. "We would not have got this done...

Burglars steal family's tortoise Monday, 17 May, 2004, 11:50 GMT 12:50 UK A Plymouth man says he is "baffled" by the theft of the family's pet tortoise at the weekend. Ronald Coombes returned to his Brynmoor Walk home on Sunday to find burglars had broken into his conservatory and vandalised his garden. He then discovered that the tortoise, named Grumpy, was missing. Nothing else was taken. Mr Coombes, who also has three cats and a dog, said: "It's just beyond me why anybody should steal him." He continued: "They're not exactly a cuddly pet, but they have got their own...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - A domesticated tortoise that lost the use of its hind feet after being hit by a stray bullet during a shootout in a Rio de Janeiro shantytown has won a pair of wheels to move around again. Doctors at a veterinary clinic in Rio's beachside Copacabana district said Tuesday the 20-year-old animal was learning to walk, or roll, using its front feet and a pair of wheels from a television rack, attached to the bottom side of its shell with adhesive bandage. The owner of the animal, who lives in the shantytown, cannot afford...