Is it true that the Turtles Can Live Up to Hundreds of Years?

Lang – January 08, 2016

Is it true that turtles can live for hundreds of years? (Image: Pixabay.com )

Science - Maybe some of you have heard the myth that turtles and turtles can live to a very long life, even longer than the human age. Wow, if it's true, how can it be?

Researchers agree that in the world of fauna, tortoises and turtles are some of the longest-lived animals. Some types of turtles are even reported to live up to the age of 200 years!

There are several factors that influence it, the first being the tortoise is known as a slow animal, almost in every way. What is the relation?

The tortoise moves very slowly, making it require little energy, unlike other animals that move faster. This is believed to make the tortoise does not require much food. The metabolism process also automatically becomes slow.

This is very useful when the turtle has to face a difficult season, when food is hard to come by. Other animals may not survive by starvation, but turtles can certainly survive.

The second one, turtles, turtles, and bulus is equipped with a very hard shell. This shell makes the tortoise almost has no natural enemies aka predators, almost no other animal teeth that can penetrate the hard shell of a turtle. At sea, turtles have few predators, ie tiger sharks and killer whales or orca .

The third is related to lifestyle. The turtles that live in the Galapagos islands , known as the giant tortoises, are the largest ever studied by humans.

The turtles that live in these islands only eat leaves, and are supported by a very natural nature free from any pollution.

This is a scientist named Walter Rothschild while playing with a Galapagos turtle, in 1906 (Image: Wikipedia)

So this is a very appropriate combination: a small energy requirement, a healthy diet free of fat and cholesterol, a pollution-free environment, and no threat of predators. This makes the Galapagos turtles grow to 250 Kg in lengths up to 1.5 meters long! Wow!

The threat of predators for the lives of turtles, bulus, and turtles is greatest when they are still egg-shaped, and when the eggs are newly hatched. Starting from the crocodile, monitor lizard, to humans is the biggest enemy that often steal the turtle eggs and this tortoise. Kasian ya!

Additional Info

The question is, how scientists and researchers can know the age of the tortoise?

This can be calculated by looking at the circle on the carapace and the plastron. What is that?

Karapas is the top shell of a turtle, which is incredibly hard. While the plastron is the cover of the lower body of the tortoise. In these two organs there are biological lines that will increase with age. Well, the researchers have the formula to estimate the age of the tortoise through these lines.