Support floods in for Gus, Halifax’s 104-year-old gopher tortoise, ahead of surgery

A beloved 104-year-old gopher tortoise, Gus, is receiving love and well wishes from supporters across the world ahead of his surgery.

Jeff Gray, the manager of the Museum of Natural History in Halifax, where Gus resides, says hundreds of letters, get-well cards and pieces of art have been sent to the tortoise in the two weeks since it was announced he is to undergo surgery Tuesday for a bladder stone. The museum’s social media accounts have also received thousands of messages from people across Canada and beyond who are wishing Gus well.

“It’s just so lovely that people have this sort of universal experience with Gus … people who visited Gus when they were a child, they return with their children, they return with their grandchildren,” Gray said in an interview Friday.

“I think the nostalgia … being able to have that experience and share that with your children or grandchildren is something that really resonates with people,” he added.

Gus is believed to be the oldest gopher tortoise in the world.

He has been a part of the Museum of Natural History since 1942, when a former museum director bought him for $5 in Florida. He is believed to have hatched in 1922.

Almost every day, visitors can join Gus on his afternoon walk around the museum. He strolls in the museum’s grassy yard when the weather is warm, and wanders around the exhibits indoors when it’s cold or rainy.

He can often be seen basking under a heat lamp in his sandy enclosure.

Gus will be taking a break from his public walks as he recovers in the museum in private for several weeks after surgery. (The Canadian Press)

During Friday afternoon’s walk, about 20 visitors watched the tortoise munch on strawberries, lettuce and a banana. Among them were Becky Cooper and her eight-year-old son, Spike Cooper, who were visiting from Maine.

“I have a new idol. Someone I want to emulate when I’m 104,” Becky Cooper said with a laugh.

Spike Cooper said he had never seen a tortoise before, and he was impressed by Gus.

“I think that he’s really good … I hope that he’s going to take [the surgery] well,” the eight-year-old said.

The Coopers were in town to see their friend, Hannah Doktor, who lives in the Halifax area and visits Gus often. Doktor said she learned about Gus and his daily walks the first week she moved to the city, and she’s been a devoted fan ever since.

“I saw him and I thought, ‘Yeah. I’d die for him,'” Doktor said of Gus.

Gus will be taking a break from his public walks as he recovers in the museum in private for several weeks after surgery.

Gray said Gus’s veterinary team first became aware of a bladder stone in 2009, and a more recent scan showed the stone has grown and is now pressing on nearby tissue.

In 2009, operating on the stone would have involved drilling through his shell, Gray said. But now, veterinary surgical advancements mean the stone can be removed through a small incision in Gus’s leg.

“There’s a fear that if we don’t do something and the bladder stone continues to grow, it will start to push against other organs and start to cause discomfort,” Gray said. “He’s certainly not showing any signs of pain now.”

For Carolyn Koslowski and Pia Pirzer, two university students on exchange from Germany, Friday marked their first time meeting Gus. Both said they were blown away by how cute he is.

Pirzer said it was her mother in Germany who urged her to visit the beloved tortoise. She said Gus came up in her mother’s research about things to see in Halifax.

“My mom has been telling me about him for weeks. And finally we made it to see him,” Pirzer said.

“We really hope that he’s going to do well in his surgery. We know he is strong,” Koslowski said.

Gray said bladder stones are relatively common in tortoises, and there’s evidence the procedure he’ll receive has been successful for other gopher tortoises. What’s uncommon is a veterinary surgery on a reptile that’s more than 100 years old.

In the wild, gopher tortoises typically live about 60 years.

Because of Gus’s age, “we tend to worry in general about going into these things. But he is in great health, and tortoises that have been in great health have had great results,” Gray said.

Outside of captivity, these tortoises’ lives are typically cut short due to human interference, Gray said. They’re vulnerable to being struck by vehicles and development that encroaches on their habitats.

“Conversely, in captivity, where humans can provide them with a secure environment, regular diet and veterinary visits, that tends to prolong a lifespan,” he said.

Gray said all surgeries come with risk, but museum staff and Gus’s veterinary team believe the procedure will give him the best chance at a healthy and comfortable future.

Gus’s daily walks will continue as usual throughout this weekend and on Monday, which will be his last public stroll before his surgery on Tuesday.

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