عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

Rare Albino Galapagos Giant Tortoise Faces the World

A baby Galapagos giant albino tortoise is photographed in the Tropiquarium in Servion, Switzerland, 02 June 2022. (EPA)
A baby Galapagos giant albino tortoise is photographed in the Tropiquarium in Servion, Switzerland, 02 June 2022. (EPA)
TT
20
TT

Rare Albino Galapagos Giant Tortoise Faces the World

A baby Galapagos giant albino tortoise is photographed in the Tropiquarium in Servion, Switzerland, 02 June 2022. (EPA)
A baby Galapagos giant albino tortoise is photographed in the Tropiquarium in Servion, Switzerland, 02 June 2022. (EPA)

A rare albino Galapagos giant tortoise made its public debut at a Swiss zoo on Friday.

Two of the tortoises were born last month at the Tropiquarium in the western town of Servion as part of a program to preserve the endangered species.

One is black like its parents and the other is albino. Their gender has yet to be determined.

"This is the first time in the world that an albino Galapagos tortoise has been born and kept in captivity. No albino individuals have ever been observed in the wild," the zoo said in a statement.

The mother, who weighs more than 100 kilograms (220 lb), laid five eggs on Feb. 11 and the albino baby hatched on May 1. The other baby hatched on May 5 after the eggs spent two-and-a-half months in an incubator.

The male weighs around 180 kg. The pair are about 30 years old and have just reached sexual maturity.

The success rate of mating is only around 2%-3% for this species. Baby turtles weigh about 50 grams at birth and fit in the palm of the hand.

Most Viewed

 
Varieties

Art as Therapy: Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
TT
20
TT

Art as Therapy: Swiss Doctors Prescribe Museum Visits

A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
A patient, who is a part of a project in which doctors prescribe museum visits, looks at artworks in the Art and History Museum in Neuchatel, Switzerland March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Swiss doctors are expanding the range of prescriptions for patients with mental health conditions and chronic illnesses to include strolls in public gardens, art galleries and museums.
The city of Neuchatel, in western Switzerland, launched the pilot project with doctors last month to help struggling residents and to promote physical activity.
"For people who sometimes have difficulties with their mental health, it allows them for a moment to forget their worries, their pain, their illnesses to go and spend a joyful moment of discovery," Patricia Lehmann, a Neuchatel doctor taking part in the program, told Reuters.
"I'm convinced that when we take care of people's emotions, we allow them somehow to perhaps find a path to healing."
Five hundred prescriptions will be handed out for free visits to four sites, including three museums and the city's botanical garden.
One of them went to a 26-year-old woman suffering from burnout whom Reuters met at the Neuchatel Museum of Art and History, which has masterpieces by Claude Monet and Edgar Degas as well as a collection of automated dolls.
"I think it brings a little light into the darkness," she said, asking to remain anonymous.
Authorities say the idea came from a 2019 World Health Organization study exploring the role of the arts in promoting health and dealing with illness.
During COVID-19 lockdowns, museum closures hit people's well-being, said Julie Courcier Delafontaine, head of the city's culture department.
"That was a real trigger and we were really convinced that culture was essential for the well-being of humanity," she said.
The initiative will be tested for a year and could be expanded to other activities such as theater.
"We'd love this project to take off and have enough patients to prove its worth and that one day, why not, health insurance covers culture as a form of therapy," said Courcier Delafontaine.