How a 'sweet and shy' tortoise outlived empires and survived two world wars

No one knows exactly when Gramma the Galápagos tortoise was born on that volcanic chain of Pacific islands. What is clear, though, is that she lived through the fall of empires, two world wars, and the tenure of more than 20 U.S. presidents. If the estimated birth year of 1884 is accurate, Chester Arthur occupied the Oval Office and there were only 39 states at the time.

It was also the year the Washington Monument was finished, the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal cornerstone was set, and the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary appeared. Queen Victoria still ruled Britain. A line running through Greenwich, England, was established as the prime meridian — the zero degree longitude mark that regularized nautical charts and time zones.

Gramma, who lived for a century at the San Diego Zoo, died Thursday at 141 — give or take, “with her family of wildlife care specialists by her side,” the zoo said in a statement to NPR. “She was being expertly supported for ongoing conditions related to her age, and wildlife health and care teams made the difficult and compassionate decision to say goodbye.”