HildaCorley2963 at 08:34, 27 March 2026

2026-03-27T08:34:17Z

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{{Short description|Aldabra giant tortoise (c. 1750 – 2006)}}
{{about|a tortoise|the philosophy and religious practice|Advaita Vedanta|the design language used in the GNOME desktop environment|Adwaita (design language)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox animal
| name = Adwaita
| image_upright =
| image =
| caption =
| species = [[Aldabra giant tortoise]]
| gender = Male
| hatch_date = {{Circa}} 1750–1826
| hatch_place = [[Aldabra]] Atoll
| death_date = {{Death date|df=yes|2006|3|22}} Aged 180–255
| death_place = [[Alipore Zoological Gardens]], [[Kolkata]], India
| weight = 250 kg
}}

'''Adwaita''' (from {{Lang|sa|अद्वैत}}, meaning "one and only" in [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]) ({{circa|1750}} – 22 March 2006), also spelled '''Adwaitya'''<ref>{{cite news |title=Calcutta's oldest resident dies |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta-s-oldest-resident-dies/cid/816177 |access-date=25 November 2024 |work=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]] |date=22 March 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=World Briefing {{!}} Asia: India: Tortoise That Saw The Rise And The Fall Of The British Empire Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/world/world-briefing-asia-india-tortoise-that-saw-the-rise-and-the-fall-of.html |access-date=25 November 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=Reuters |date=24 March 2006}}</ref> or '''Addwaita''',<ref>{{cite news |title=Addwaita, a tortoise of great renown |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/addwaita-a-tortoise-of-great-renown/ |access-date=25 November 2024 |work=[[The Namibian]] |date=3 April 2006}}</ref> was a male [[Aldabra giant tortoise]] that lived in the [[Alipore Zoological Gardens]] of [[Kolkata]], India. At the time of his death in 2006, Adwaita was believed to be amongst the [[List of longest-living organisms|longest-living animals]] in the world.

The animal is claimed to have been one of four tortoises that lived at [[Robert Clive]]'s estate at [[Barrackpore]], in the northern suburbs of Calcutta.<ref name=BBC4837988>{{cite news|title='Clive of India's' tortoise dies|newspaper=BBC News|publisher=[[BBC Online]]|date=23 March 2006|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4837988.stm|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref> Clive was said to have received the tortoises following his victory at the [[Battle of Plassey]] in 1757,<ref name="Lal2006">{{Cite web|last=Lal|first=Vinay|date=April 2006|title=Clive and his Pet Tortoise|url=http://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/british-india/clive-pet-tortoise/|access-date=16 June 2020|website=MANAS, UCLA Social Sciences|language=en-US}}</ref> although this story is unsubstantiated.

Adwaita was transferred to the [[Zoological Garden, Alipore|Alipore Zoo]] in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] in 1875 or 1876 by [[Carl Louis Schwendler]], the founder of the zoo.<ref name="PASB1876">{{cite journal|title=Zoological Garden|journal=Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal|pages=23–24|date=February 1876|url=https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofasi1876asia#page/n35/mode/2up}}</ref> Adwaita lived in his enclosure in the zoo until his death on 22 March 2006 at an estimated age of 255.

==Description==
Weighing 250 kg (551 lb), Adwaita was a solitary animal with no records of his progeny. He lived on a diet of wheat [[bran]], carrots, lettuce, soaked gram ([[chickpea]]), bread, grass and salt.<ref name="Lal2006" />

==Age==
His shell cracked in late 2005, and a wound developed in the flesh underneath the crack. The wound became infected and eventually led to his death from liver failure on 22 March 2006. Adwaita is claimed to have been 255 years old at the time of his death, although this claim is unsubstantiated.<ref name=BBC4837988/> If Adwaita's claimed age were true, he would be the oldest known tortoise, outliving [[Harriet (tortoise)|Harriet]] by 80 years, [[Tu'i Malila]] by 67 years, and making him 63 years older than the current record holder [[Jonathan (tortoise)|Jonathan]].{{cn|date=December 2025}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |title=Kolkata toasts 255-year-old resident |url=http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13735319&headline=Kolkata~toasts~255-year-old~resident |website=[[Sify]] |access-date=12 January 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427025103/http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13735319&headline=Kolkata~toasts~255-year-old~resident |archive-date=27 April 2006}}
*{{Cite news |title=Worlds Oldest Animals |publication-date= 29 June 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjrtn7bf4o?id=13735319 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/lJjrtn7bf4o |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}

{{Named turtles}}
{{Kolkata topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adwaita}}
[[Category:1750 animal births]]
[[Category:2006 animal deaths]]
[[Category:History of Kolkata]]
[[Category:Individual tortoises]]
[[Category:Individual animals in India]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver failure]]

Adwaita - Revision history

HildaCorley2963 at 08:34, 27 March 2026