KEVN (Rapid City, S Dakota) 11 July 11 Centenarian tortoise dies (Brendyn Medina)

The Black Hills will have to say goodbye to its oldest living resident. Methuselah, the giant tortoise from Reptile Gardens, passed away Sunday evening. The 130-year-old gentle giant has been a Rapid City resident for the past 56 years.

The park estimates that tens of thousands of visitors have met and petted Methuselah, and it wasn't a rare occasion to hear grandparents telling grandchildren about encounters with him when they were kids. Park manager John Brockelsby says, "It's a very sad day for all of us here at Reptile Gardens and our guests. It's a day we knew would come sometime. After all, he was 130 years old but he's probably been the number one ambassador that we've ever had for reptile gardens. I would arguably say that he might be as photographed an animal as there is in the United States." A permanent memorial for Methuselah is in the works at the park.

http://www.blackhillsfox.com/2011/07/11/Centenarian-tortoise-dies



KEVN (Rapid City, S Dakota) 11 July 11 Reptile Gardens icon Methuselah dies

Reptile Gardens icon Methuselah has died. The 130-year old Galapagos tortoise had been a fixture at Reptile Gardens since 1954. In a release, Reptile Gardens CEO Joe Maierhauser said Methuselah died from apparent complications of old age. Reptile Gardens aquired the tortoise in the fall of 1954 when he was already 73 years old. A release from the attraction says the estimated cost to replace a tortoise as old and large as Methuselah, if it were possible, would be about $85,000 or more.

http://www.blackhillsfox.com/2011/07/11/reptile-gardens-icon-methuselah-died

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