A photograph of Adwaitya forms the background for its carapace kept in Alipore zoo. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Alipore zoo plans to bring in two marine turtles from Orissa to replace Adwaitya, the over 200-year-old Aldabra tortoise that died last Wednesday.

The suggestion came from a board member during a meeting on Monday to mourn the death of the tortoise.

Adwaitya had been one of the attractions of the zoo since his arrival in 1875. The shell on the lower part of the tortoise?s body had developed a crack a few months ago. It was repaired subsequently.

The post-mortem suggested that Adwaitya died of old age and his liver and kidneys were not functioning properly. The carapace will be preserved in the zoo, primarily for the benefit of zoology students.

?Given the new regulations, it is next to impossible to get a giant tortoise of the same species as Adwaitya?s. If we can get a couple of turtles from the Orissa coast and keep them in the same enclosure, it will benefit the zoo,? said board member S.R. Chakraborty.

Former additional principal chief conservator of forest Pranabesh Sanyal, however, sounded a note of warning. Marine turtles cannot live on land and their habitat must be recreated to keep them in captivity, he cautioned.

?We need to provide marine turtles with brackish (saline) water and sand beds, where they can bask in the sun,? pointed out Sanyal.

The issue of poor infrastructure in the zoo was taken up at the meeting. Veterinarian Shivaji Bhattacharya said: ?After Adwaitya developed a crack on the lower part of the shell, rodents used to gnaw at the wound. This made our task difficult. We could cure the wound only after he was shifted to an enclosure free of rats.?