Adwaita
Adwaita ( Sanskrit : अद्वैत , Advaita ; Bengali : অদ্বৈত , Adbaita ; German: "the unique" (literally "a-dwaita" = non-duality); * probably around or before 1750 in the Seychelles ; † March 22, 2006 in Calcutta ) was a male Aldabra giant tortoise . It lived in the Calcutta Zoo in India and, at probably 256 years old, was considered the oldest animal living in captivity.
According to the zoo's records, Adwaita hatched in 1750 (possibly even 1705). He was one of four giant Aldabra tortoises brought from the Seychelles to India by British seafarers and given there as a gift to British colonial official Robert Clive . He spent his youth in Robert Clive's garden.
Since 1875 Adwaita lived in the then newly opened zoo of Alipur in the city of Calcutta. The animal did not get its current name until 2005. A few months before its death, its shell was cracked, which led to a fatal infection .
Stamp
In 2008 the Indian Post issued two hexagonal postage stamps with the image of Adwaita. The face values were 5 rupees and 15 rupees.
See also
Web links
- On the Indian postage stamps ( Memento of December 18, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 257 kB)