Calcutta, March 22: Adwaitya, the giant Aldabra tortoise that came to Alipore zoo 131 years ago, died late last night.

Brought from the Barrackpore zoo in Latbagan by Lord Clive in 1875, he possibly died of old age, forest minister Jogesh Chandra Barman said.

His shell had cracked a few months ago, though it was repaired subsequently.

The zookeepers discovered that he was dead when they went to his enclosure on Wednesday morning. According to the post-mortem report, his liver was damaged and flesh incinerated.

The carapace will be preserved in the zoo.

The actual date of Adwaitya’s birth is debatable. According to one view, he was born in 1750. Another record says 1705. But it is known that he had already spent 125 years at Barrackpore before being brought to Alipore.

He belonged to the species found in Galapagos Archipelago and Aldabra Atoll.