A pair of giant tortoises at the Austrian Zoo were together for 115 years, but no more. Recently the female started to get sick tired of the male...seeing the same old face for 115 years must have bored her. She was biting him on the back every time they run into each other. The zookeepers had tried everything including games, aphrodisiacs, and couple's counseling! Nothing worked. They had to separate the couple by relocate the male.
115 years is a long time. In human terms. Perhaps in tortoise terms they mean a lot less.
So it may be that the female tortoise is just coming to age, so to say, and she wants to have a greater say about things in general, starting with establishing "who's boss". It appears that she has got what she wants. One less tortoise in the enclosure means that much more space to move about. Just guessing though. I have no idea what constitutes personal space to a tortoise.
generally tortoise have a life of nearly 300 years. 115 means only 33% of life..and does that mean they are also getting bored with their spouse in a short time just like men do
I've heard something about this story on the TV news, but didn't catch the complete details. I'm glad to see you posted about it, because it is a curiosity! That photo really cracks me up - a couple's spat caught on camera! haha
I'm sure that male wishes he COULD get a lawyer! (you're funny, ram!).
It's sad though that any long-term relationship splits up. Maybe they'll miss each other after this separation and start pining away until they're reunited again! Or maybe they'll find new loves and live happily ever after, for the next couple hundred years!
I agree that seperating them is the right thing to do. Obviously the female wasn't happy with the living situation anymore and the male would just end up get hurt (physically) being enclosed with the female. I hope they both live out happy lives. Thanks for sharing this story Ram!
Couple split up after 115 years ![[Image: 470_2397072.0]](http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/lSSvsha0n11wtYmoafHOkA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NTt3PTMxMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/blogs/partner/470_2397072.0)
