HALIFAX - Several generations of admirers turned out to celebrate the long life of Gus the gopher turtle in Halifax on Sunday, as museum zoologists cautioned that many among his species are struggling to survive in the wild.
Dozens of children came to the Nova Scotia Museum for what was billed at Gus's 85th birthday party, to sing him songs, bring him presents and watch him devour organic fruit.
Ryan Bessey, 7, simply saw the watermelon-sized turtle with the well-worn carapace as a friendly creature from a far-off land.
"He's a turtle, and he's from Florida," he explained, while standing near his grandfather, Max Dooks, 68, who has been visiting the turtle for past 23 years.
Gus was originally purchased from a roadside reptile stand in Florida by a former employee of the Nova Scotia Museum in the early 1940s, and has made the Halifax museum his home for the past six decades, though he mysteriously disappeared for one year.
Andrew Hebda, a museum zoologist, said in an interview that Gus is now a "poster child" that gives him a chance to talk to visitors about the importance of protecting habitat and rare species.
"The story he's telling is that species become endangered because we effect their habitats. We remove their habitat, we remove their food, remove their abilities to socialize or to interact or to reproduce and that's what causes the stress in the population," Hebda said.
"So Gus has been here spreading that news ever since he's been here."
Hebda says the gopher turtle's habitat in parts of North America is growing smaller, and a museum news release notes that in Florida the turtles will soon be listed as an endangered species.
However, during celebrations on Sunday, the staff just wanted the children to see and appreciate the oldest resident of their museum.
They provided children with cookies, while Gus feasted on some organically grown bananas, blueberries and raspberries just before his bath.
Hebda explained that gopher turtles live long lives because they are cold-blooded creatures that have slow metabolisms, with an average lifespan of a gopher turtle being about 60 years of age.
"Reptiles are a bit more primitive. The longer you live, the more chance you have of making as many copies of yourself as possible. That's the name of the game."
However, Gus has elected to live a solitary life.
"He's never had a girlfriend, but he has gotten excited on a couple of occasions," said Hebda, adding there have been several attempts to introduce Gus to a potential mate.
But the turtle will always have human companions.
Dooks intends to keep coming to the reptile's birthday, bringing along his children and grandchildren.
"It's kind of difficult to explain in words, it's nice to be able to see him and he still looks to be in great health."
