Unique giant tortoises have made their home at the Mykolaiv Zoo
The Mykolaiv Zoo has welcomed two unusual new residents—giant tortoises that were brought from abroad. The new animals have been named Felix and Amalka.
Seychelles giant tortoises have arrived in Mykolaiv. Their species is also known as Aldabrachelys gigantea, native to the Seychelles.
These are young tortoises, 12–13 years old. The male is named Felix and the female is Amalka. Each tortoise weighs up to 42 kg. They were bred in a special breeding facility in the Czech Republic.
However, these animals are native to the island of Aldabra. This species is rare; some of these tortoises have lived up to 150 years in captivity.
According to the director, the tortoises were gifted to the zoo in honor of its anniversary. “This is a gift for the 125th anniversary of the Mykolaiv Zoo from renowned Ukrainian herpetologist Dmytro Tkachov, founder and owner of the Bion Terrarium Center for the Breeding of Rare Animal Species in Kyiv,” the post reads.
Felix and Amalka are now in a specially built enclosure.
This was reported with reference to a Facebook post by zoo director Volodymyr Topchyi.
More excitement than a typical zoo: Kyiv is home to one of the largest open-air petting zoos.
The Kyiv Zoo has denied rumors about the recent death of giraffes.
Earlier, it was reported that a Far Eastern leopard cub with an unusual black coat had been born at a zoo in the Kyiv region. This subspecies is one of the rarest in the world—there are only about a hundred individuals left in the wild. In the wild, the black coloration makes hunting and survival more difficult.
