Not even the strictest marriage guidance counsellor could have accused them of lacking commitment to their relationship: Bibi and Poldi had been living in harmony together under the same roof and in different cities for a staggering 115 years.
But crestfallen keepers at Klagenfurt Zoo in southern Austria were forced to admit yesterday that after more than a century, Bibi and Poldi – the names of the country's oldest living captive giant tortoise pair – had had a furious row, split up and were flatly refusing to share a cage.
"We get the feeling they can't stand the sight of each other anymore," is how Zoo director Helga Happ explained the motive behind Austria's deepening giant tortoise trauma. "For no reason anyone can discover, they have fallen out."
Zoo staff were stung into the bitter realisation that the pair's relationship had "turned turtle" when a keeper approached their cage last month and was given a wholly unexpected display of unfettered female giant tortoise fury.
Bibi attacked Poldi and bit off a chunk of his shell. She carried out several further attacks, obliging keepers to move Poldi to a separate cage for his safety.
http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...affair-ends-in-a-quickie-divorce-7848932.html
But crestfallen keepers at Klagenfurt Zoo in southern Austria were forced to admit yesterday that after more than a century, Bibi and Poldi – the names of the country's oldest living captive giant tortoise pair – had had a furious row, split up and were flatly refusing to share a cage.
"We get the feeling they can't stand the sight of each other anymore," is how Zoo director Helga Happ explained the motive behind Austria's deepening giant tortoise trauma. "For no reason anyone can discover, they have fallen out."
Zoo staff were stung into the bitter realisation that the pair's relationship had "turned turtle" when a keeper approached their cage last month and was given a wholly unexpected display of unfettered female giant tortoise fury.
Bibi attacked Poldi and bit off a chunk of his shell. She carried out several further attacks, obliging keepers to move Poldi to a separate cage for his safety.
http://www.independent.co.uk/enviro...affair-ends-in-a-quickie-divorce-7848932.html
