Durban — In celebration of Heritage Day, the Umgeni River Bird Park and Mitchell Park Zoo celebrated one of their oldest resident’s birthdays as Admiral the tortoise turned 120, on Tuesday.
In honour of his birthday, the public was allowed to witness the celebration for free and share in the celebrations by enjoying children's activities and cake.
The launch of the Mitchell Park Zoo’s Little Library also took place on Tuesday.
The chief co-ordinator of Umgeni River Bird Park and Mitchell Park Zoo, Tarryn Bristow, said Admiral was definitely a part of Durban’s heritage and they wanted to use the day to celebrate not only him but also the history and heritage of the Umgeni River Bird Park and the Mitchell Park Zoo.
“We are celebrating Admiral because one can only imagine what he has seen and experienced in his century-long life. He has met so many different political figures, like the late former president Nelson Mandela, as well international royalty including Queen Elizabeth.”
Bristow said that in line with the celebrations, they also planned to improve the park and give it a 21st century feel.
She said Admiral’s diet and the way he behaved made it easy to look after him.
“We also keep up to date with zoos globally and what they are feeding their tortoises. He gets regular checks by vets to ensure that all is right.”
She said the tortoises spent most of their time in water and even when they were in the wild, they would swim into the sea. She said Admiral could sit in the water for a week, even when it was cold, because the water was warmer than the air.
Bristow said that they also regularly cleaned and disinfected the tortoises' shells.
She said Heritage, a southern ground hornbill, was celebrating his ninth birthday this month.
Catherine Stevens, a member of the public, said that it was a wonderful experience to celebrate a Durban legend and that it was great to be a part of this momentus day. She concluded that Mitchell's Park did a fantastic job of playing host to this celebration.
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