Harriet the tortoise, one of the oldest animals in the world who some claim was studied by the pioneering 19th century naturalist Charles Darwin, has died in Australia at 175 years of age, reports The Times.
“Harriet, who was originally mistaken for a male tortoise and called Harry for more than a century, was named the world’s oldest living animal in the Guiness Book of Records. When she was DNA tested, scientists were able to say she was born around 1830 – five years prior to Darwin’s visit to the Galapagos archipelago.
“It’s thought she may have been taken off there (Galapagos) by Charles Darwin,” John Hangar, a senior vet said. “She’s spent a period of time in Britain and found herself at the Botanic Gardens in Brisbane from about 1850 or 1860 onwards and eventually she found her way up to Australia Zoo.”
This giant Galapagos tortoise, the world’s oldest known living creature, was of the size of an average dinner table when she died, says the BBC. You can also see a video of Harriet’s 175th birthday bash.
Keepers at the zoo who cared for Harriet attributed her longevity to a stress-free life!!! But was she a spinster, Mate?
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.