The El Paso Zoo has been home to Galapagos tortoises for well over 50 years. Today we have two male tortoises, Mr. Potato Head arrived here from the Oklahoma City Zoo in June of 1991 and Ralph in June of 2001 from the Phoenix Zoo.

Galapagos tortoises are from the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean made famous by Charles Darwin who visited in 1835 and later inspired his theory of evolution.  They are the largest tortoises in the world reaching weights of up to 880 pounds. The large shell provides protection against their environment and when the tortoise feels threatened it can pull its legs and head into the shell. You won’t see this behavior at the Zoo because our tortoises have bonded with their keepers and for the most part have little fear as they go about their day. To help keep them active and connected with their keepers, they have been target trained to come to a red ball on a target stick. All training involves positive reinforcement so when they touch the ball they get rewarded with special treats like fruits.

Galapagos tortoises live on islands with climates ranging from tropical to temperate. Tortoises will move around their island homes depending on the temperature conditions. During the hot and dry seasons, they will move up to the highlands where temperatures are cooler. Once the rains come, they move back to lower elevations to find muddy puddles to wallow in the water.

Galapagos tortoises are herbivores and eat prickly-pear cactus, fruits, flowers, leaves and grasses. At the zoo they are given a daily diet of tortoise Mazuri, grass hay, browse, romaine lettuce, and leafy greens which are a combination of kale, collard, spinach, turnips, and mustard. They are also given apples, zucchini, pears, carrots, cucumbers, celery, and watermelon.