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{{Short description|Aldabra giant tortoise}}
{{about|a tortoise|the philosophy and religious practice|Advaita Vedanta|the design language used in the GNOME desktop environment|Adwaita (design language)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox animal
| name                    = Adwaita
| image_upright           = 
| image                   = 
| caption                 = 
| species                 = [[Aldabra giant tortoise]]
| gender                  = Male
| hatch_date              = {{Circa}} {{Start date|1750}}
| hatch_place             = [[Aldabra]] Atoll
| death_date              = {{Death date|df=yes|2006|3|22}} (aged {{age in years|1750|2006}})
| death_place            = [[Alipore Zoological Gardens]], [[Kolkata]], India
| resting_place           =
| resting_place_coordinates = 
| known                   =  Believed to be the oldest terrestrial animal in the world, if verified. 
| residence               = 
| parents                 = 
| children                = 
| weight                  = 250 kg
| height                  = 
| appearance              = 
| namedafter              = 
}}

'''Adwaita''' (from {{Lang|sa|अद्वैत}}, meaning "one and only" in [[Sanskrit language|Sanskrit]]) ({{circa|1750}} – 22 March 2006), also spelled '''Adwaitya'''<ref>{{cite news |title=Calcutta's oldest resident dies |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta-s-oldest-resident-dies/cid/816177 |access-date=25 November 2024 |work=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]] |date=22 March 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=World Briefing {{!}} Asia: India: Tortoise That Saw The Rise And The Fall Of The British Empire Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/world/world-briefing-asia-india-tortoise-that-saw-the-rise-and-the-fall-of.html |access-date=25 November 2024 |work=[[The New York Times]] |agency=Reuters |date=24 March 2006}}</ref> or '''Addwaita''',<ref>{{cite news |title=Addwaita, a tortoise of great renown |url=https://www.namibian.com.na/addwaita-a-tortoise-of-great-renown/ |access-date=25 November 2024 |work=[[The Namibian]] |date=3 April 2006}}</ref> was a male [[Aldabra giant tortoise]] that lived in the [[Alipore Zoological Gardens]] of [[Kolkata]], India. At the time of his death in 2006, Adwaita was believed to be amongst the [[List of longest-living organisms|longest-living animals]] in the world.

He may have been from [[Aldabra]], an atoll in the [[Seychelles]]. This anecdotal report has not been confirmed.<ref name=EOL2014>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Aldabra Tortoise (Geochelone gigantean)|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia of Life]]|year=2014|url=http://eol.org/pages/795005/details|access-date=28 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141116015844/http://eol.org/pages/795005/details |archive-date=16 November 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The animal was one of four tortoises that lived at [[Robert Clive]]'s estate at [[Barrackpore]], in the northern suburbs of Calcutta.<ref name=BBC4837988>{{cite news|title='Clive of India's' tortoise dies|newspaper=BBC News|publisher=[[BBC Online]]|date=23 March 2006|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4837988.stm|access-date=23 January 2014}}</ref> Clive was said to have received the tortoises following his victory at the [[Battle of Plassey]] in 1757, in which the [[East India Company|British East India Company]] defeated the [[Nawabs of Bengal and Murshidabad|Nawab of Bengal]] and his French allies, thereby securing India for Britain in the long run.<ref name="Lal2006">{{Cite web|last=Lal|first=Vinay|date=April 2006|title=Clive and his Pet Tortoise|url=http://southasia.ucla.edu/history-politics/british-india/clive-pet-tortoise/|access-date=16 June 2020|website=MANAS, UCLA Social Sciences|language=en-US}}</ref> Adwaita was transferred to the [[Zoological Garden, Alipore|Alipore Zoo]] in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]] in 1875 or 1876 by [[Carl Louis Schwendler]], the founder of the zoo.<ref name=PASB1876>{{cite journal|title=Zoological Garden|journal=Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal|pages=23–24|date=February 1876|url=https://archive.org/stream/proceedingsofasi1876asia#page/n35/mode/2up}}</ref> Adwaita lived in his enclosure in the zoo until his death on 22 March 2006 at an estimated age of 255.

==Description==
Weighing 250&nbsp;kg (551&nbsp;lb), Adwaita was a solitary animal with no records of his progeny. He lived on a diet of wheat [[bran]], carrots, lettuce, soaked gram ([[chickpea]]), bread, grass and salt.<ref name="Lal2006" />

==Age==
His shell cracked in late 2005, and a wound developed in the flesh underneath the crack. The wound became infected and eventually led to his death from [[liver failure]] on 22 March 2006. Adwaita is estimated to have been at least 255 years old.<ref name=BBC4837988/> If this latter estimate can be confirmed, Adwaita will have been the oldest known tortoise of modern times, living longer than [[Harriet (tortoise)|Harriet]] by 80 years, [[Tu'i Malila]] by 67 years and [[Jonathan (tortoise)|Jonathan]] by 64 years {{as of|2024|lc=y}}.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |title=Kolkata toasts 255-year-old resident |url=http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13735319&headline=Kolkata~toasts~255-year-old~resident |website=[[Sify]] |access-date=12 January 2019 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427025103/http://headlines.sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=13735319&headline=Kolkata~toasts~255-year-old~resident |archive-date=27 April 2006}}
*{{Cite news |title=Worlds Oldest Animals |publication-date= 29 June 2015 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjrtn7bf4o?id=13735319 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/lJjrtn7bf4o |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}

{{Named turtles}}
{{Kolkata topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adwaita}}
[[Category:1750 animal births]]
[[Category:2006 animal deaths]]
[[Category:History of Kolkata]]
[[Category:Individual tortoises]]
[[Category:Individual animals in India]]
[[Category:Deaths from liver failure]]