A pet tortoise in China addicted to nicotine

[PhenoMenal]

From correspondents in Beijing
March 27, 2008 10:57pm

A TORTOISE that smokes and appears to be addicted to nicotine has been discovered in China's northeastern province of Jilin.

The animal is the pet of a man, identified by his surname Yun, who is himself a smoker, Xinhua news agency said today, quoting a local newspaper.

One day, Mr Yun teased the tortoise by putting a cigarette butt into its mouth, and to his surprise it started to smoke it, according to the news agency.

From then on, he shared his cigarettes with his pet, Xinhua said.

"It seems to have become addicted," Mr Yun was quoted as saying.

"Whenever I smoke in front of it, it will stick its head out of the water and fidget about until I give it the stub."

Mr Yun proved his claim by putting a cigarette in the tortoise's mouth in front the paper's reporter and his neighbours, Xinhua quoted the newspaper as saying.

To everyone's surprise, the tortoise finished it in less than four minutes, the news agency said.

Monkeys have been know to smoke in imitation of human beings, the deputy secretary-general of Jilin's Wildlife Conservation Society told Xinhua.

But he said he had never heard of a tortoise lighting up.

 

[dbuzz]

hahaha. i read the other day about how rodents will willingly ingest marijuana and other drugs. animals want peace of mind. reptiles too.

edit: ahh, i read that as marijuana. too early.

now i'm gonna go find me a smokin' turtle. chick magnet? lol

 

[zingablack]

thats freakin great

 

[RudolfTheRed]

If reincarnation is a real then I hope in my next life I'm a marijuana smoking house pet.

 

[geminibud]

My dog's always follow me when I go for a smoke........the 1 buries his face in my stomach looking up at me until I blow it at him

 

[Deft]

What if it lives to be 200 years old and smoking all the way lol.

 

[Raistlin Majere]

a tortoise can live a LONG time
it would be nice to see a pic
might already be older than that
PhenoMenal - do you know how old they get ?
probably not near as old as they used to get or as big
same with everything else
poor thing

 

[JLP]

How the hell do you smoke a cigarette with no lips?

JLP

 

[PhenoMenal]

a tortoise can live a LONG time
PhenoMenal - do you know how old they get ?

No, but Wiki Will Know™!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tortoise ...

Tortoises generally have lifespans comparable with those of human beings, and some individuals are known to have lived longer than 150 years. Because of this, they symbolize longevity in some cultures, such as China. The oldest tortoise ever recorded, almost the oldest individual animal ever recorded, was Tui Malila, who was presented to the Tongan royal family by the British explorer Captain Cook shortly after its birth in 1777. Tui Malila remained in the care of the Tongan royal family until its death by natural causes on May 19, 1965. This means that upon its death, Tui Malila was 188 years old. The record for the longest-lived vertebrate is succeeded only by one other, a Koi Fish named "Hanako" whose death on July 17, 1977 ended a 226 year life span.

The Alipore Zoo in India was the home to Adwaitya, which zoo officials claimed was the oldest living animal until its death on March 23, 2006. Adwaitya (sometimes spelled with two d's) was an Aldabra Giant Tortoise brought to India by Lord Wellesley who handed it over to the Alipur Zoological Gardens in 1875 when the zoo was set up. Zoo officials state they have documentation showing that Adwaitya was at least 130 years old, but claim that he was over 250 years old (although this has not been scientifically verified). Adwaitya was said to be the pet of Robert Clive. Harriet, a resident at the Australia Zoo in Queensland, was apocryphally thought to have been brought to England by Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle. Harriet died on June 23, 2006, just shy of her 176th birthday.

Here's a pic of Steve & Terri Irwin with 176yo Harriet:

But the image i always remember was when Steve discovered Harriet had died, he dropped to his knees clearly a shattered man, put his hands and head over Harriets shell and bawled his eyes out, was pretty sad especially considering the history of the tortoise

 

[PhenoMenal]

How the hell do you smoke a cigarette with no lips?
JLP

Maybe no lips in the traditional sense but its still got a mouth and lungs to inhale with

Here's one that prefers grass instead of ciggies