Is This Britain’s Oldest Resident?

LONDON - What could be the country’s oldest resident has been discovered living in Coulsdon, Surrey. Practical Reptile Keeping’s on-going search for a tortoise which hatched when Queen Victoria was still on the throne has revealed an active centurion. Tommy was originally believed to have been a male when acquired from a street market in Streatham, south London, but this was clearly shown to be a mistake when she started to lay eggs later in life!

This venerable veteran is now at least 110 years old, which makes her the oldest Hermann’s tortoise ever known, and her life covers a period of remarkable technological advances. Tommy was just a youngster in 1903 when the Wright Brothers undertook the first powered flight in a plane. She was enjoying the summer sun in July 1969 when astronauts walked on the moon for the first time, and was still basking outdoors when the Mars orbiter was beaming back photos from further out in the Universe earlier this month.

The intriguing question remains, however, as to whether there might be an even older tortoise in one of Britain’s gardens?

Note to Editors:

A picture of Tommy is available. Practical Reptile Keeping is a monthly publication, produced by the Kelsey Publishing Group, of Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent.

David is an experienced broadcaster and editor of Practical Reptile Keeping magazine. He is available for TV and radio interviews.

Source: Practical Reptile Keeping Magazine

For further information on this story, please contact David Alderton direct on prk.ed at kelsey.co.uk or telephone +44(0)7970-218164.