You read the headline correctly. It seems that a couple of mated giant tortoises have called an end to their relationship after being together for 115 years. The two natives of an Austrian zoo, who go by the names of “Bibi” and “Poldi”, no longer get along, and park officials were forced to seperate them.
Raised in confinement, Bibi and Poldi have shared the same cage for 115 years, the last 36 of them at the zoo in Klagenfurt, Austria. Until recently they got along perfectly, but now zookeepers are forced to separate them.
“We get the feeling they can’t stand the sight of each other anymore,” Helga Happ of the Klagenfurt zoo told the Austrian Times. “They are both 115 years old — they have been together since they were young and grew up together, eventually becoming a pair. But for no reason that anyone can discover they seem to have fallen out, they just can’t stand each other.”
The reason for the split — Bibi actually started getting violent with her mate. The female has attacked Boldi several times, once taking a huge chunk out of Boldi’s shell.
Although the two have separated, zoo officials say there is still hope for reconciliation. “We have staff talking to and trying to engage the two in interacting, and we hope that they might find their harmony again.
“We were told that it’s very rare that after so many years animals who are a pair will fall apart, but that’s where we are. We hope though we can bring round a reconciliation, Happ told the Austrian Times.
