Genevieve Jorgensen of the Royal Danish Veterinary School has been studying Giant Tortoise diet.

Giant tortoises are fascinating creatures and are familiar to many people. Some people are lucky enough to have seen them in the wild, but they are also commonly kept in zoos. Although they seem to adapt well to captivity, there are gaps in our knowledge about tortoise health and nutrition. To help address this, myself and my colleague Beth Fledelius from the Royal Danish Veterinary School have been carrying out a study of tortoises on Aldabra. We have taken 45 blood samples from tortoises on one of the islands, and analysed these using portable equipment. We also collected food plants for analysis in Denmark, to calculate calcium content.