History
Tortoises are turtles that spend most of their time on dry land, rather than in or near water like terrapins or sea turtles. They usually have high-backed shells and large thick limbs. As the popular fable “The Tortoise and the Hare” depicts, many tortoises are quite slow-moving. They are also quite slow aging, and have one of the longest lifespans of any vertebrate. A tortoise named Tu’I Malila was born in 1777 and lived until 1965, making it the oldest confirmed tortoise ever known.