DAILY MAIL (London, UK) 07 September 10 Firefighters use oxygen masks used to revive giant tortoises rescued from burning zoo enclosure
Photo at URL below: Helping hand: The African spurred tortoises undergo oxygen treatment at Postlingberg Zoo in Austria after their enclosure caught fire
Their typically slow progress put them in danger when their enclosure became filled with smoke.
So to bring them back from the brink of death, these massive African spurred tortoises were given oxygen treatment usually reserved for humans.
Firefighters initially administered the life-saving gas through masks at Postlingberg Zoo in Linz, Austria, before keepers continued caring for the giant 10st tortoises.
They were called when a fire broke out in the creatures' roofed enclosure and managed to rescue all six of them as the area burned.
Vet Isabella Eberle said: 'We expect them to make a full recovery. The masks were designed for human use but we managed to make them fit.'
African spurred tortoises can grow up to 11st in weight and are believed to live to an age of 80 years.
Their natural habitat is the Sahara Desert where they escape searing heat by digging deep tunnels.
Firefighters use oxygen masks used to revive giant tortoises rescued from burning zoo enclosure

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