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29 September 2012

2008, ALDABRA GIANT TORTOISE India Rs 5. MNH

2008, ALDABRA GIANT TORTOISE India 


                 ALDABRA GIANT TORTOISE Rs 5. India 02nd August 2008 MN H


                                        Text:             ALDABRA GIANT TORTOISE Rs 5. India  2008 
                             Condition:             MNH
Country / Post          India
Date of Issue          2 August 2008
Primary theme          Fauna (Reptiles) 
Subject          Aldabra Giant Tortoise
Width          33.0 mm
Height           39.0 mm
Denomination          5.00 INR
Number in set          
Layout/Format          sheet
Perforations          13 by 13
Stamp issuing authority          Ministry of Communications Department of Posts
Printer          India Security Press, Nasik
                                Buy Now:            Bid Now:

STAMP-1. This is the story of a tortoise named Adwaitya. We all know about the legendary tortoise of folk tales who defeated the hare and won the race. Well, Adwaitya was also a winner. Before he died in the year 2006 in Alipore Zoological Garden, Kolkata  he was perhaps the longest living animal in the world having lived for more than 250 years. People lovingly called him Adwaitya meaning the matchless or the unique(hindi : Adviteeya i.e.unique or no second)as he was a living example of nature's mysteries. He is supposed to have been born in 1750, however, some say it was 1705. He fed on wheat bran, grams soaked in water, small pieces of carrots, sweet potatoes, beans, leafy vegetables, diced banana and rice mixed with powder gram. The Aldabra Giant Tortoise (Geochelone gigantea) is a native of Aldabra atoll, part of the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean. The Aldabra atoll has been protected from human influence since late 19th Century and is home to a large number of giant tortoises. The size of the Aldabra Giant Tortoise can be up to 4 Ft. in length and the weight can be about 550 lbs. They are normally dark gray to black in colour, have small pointed head covered with scales, a long neck, a highly domed carapace and thick bony scales on forelegs. Adwaitya became ill several months before his death after a crack developed around a wound on his chest, and ultimately succumbed on 22nd March, 2006. Department of Posts is proud to issue a set of two commemorative postage stamps on the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. The specially designed stamps are unique in the sense that they are hexagonal i.e they have six sides.

The Aldabra giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea), from the islands of theAldabra Atoll in the Seychelles, is one of the largest tortoises in the world. This species is widely referred to as Aldabrachelys gigantea but has also been placed in the genus Dipsochelys as Dipsochelys dussumieri. 

Anatomy and morphology

The carapace is a brown or tan color with a high domed shape. It has stocky, heavily scaled legs to support its heavy body. The neck of the Aldabra giant tortoise is very long, even for its great size, which helps the animal to exploit treebranches up to a meter from the ground as a food source.

Similar in size to the famous Galápagos giant tortoise, its carapace averages 120 centimetres (47 in) in length. The average weight of a male is around 250 kilograms (550 lb), but one male at the Fort Worth Zoological Park weighs over 360.25 kilograms (794.2 lb). Females are generally smaller than males, with average specimens measuring 90 centimetres (35 in) in length and weighing 150 kilograms (330 lb).

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