Speed the 150-year-old Galapagos tortoise dies at San Diego Zoo

SAN DIEGO – One of San Diego’s oldest residents has died.

The Los Angeles Times reports (http://lat.ms/1LpXn0p ) that the Galapagos tortoise known as Speed has been euthanized at an estimated age of more than 150 years.

Speed had been living at the San Diego Zoo since 1933. He was brought to California as part of an early effort to preserve the endangered species from the Volcan Cerro Azul Island of the Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador.

The massive tortoise had been in geriatric decline for some time. Keepers treated his arthritis and other maladies with medication, hydrotherapy, physical therapy and acupuncture.

Speed was known in his younger years as an alpha male who would butt heads with other males in dominance skirmishes.

Thirteen Galapagos tortoises still remain at the zoo.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/