Two-faced Janus: how the oldest turtle with two heads celebrated its anniversary (5 photos)

The turtle has two heads and has lived a record long time for such an anomaly.





As you know, turtles have a very long life: they live on average from 80 to 150 years old. Against this background, the 25th anniversary of the turtle seems very modest date unworthy of a magnificent holiday. However, there is an exception to the rule: if this turtle has two heads.

Janus is the oldest tortoise on the planet with such an anomaly, and in last month he celebrated a round date. Janus lives in the local Museum natural history in Geneva. A rare reptile has long become a talisman this institution.



The birthday boy was born in 1997, hatched from an egg. Then there was an incubator at the museum, and its appearance caused a huge astonishment. They decided to go out at all costs and provide for the cub. him a long and dignified life. The turtle was named after the ancient Roman the god Janus, who had two heads.





In the wild, two-headed turtles have a very short life. The fact is that they are vulnerable to predators: for example, they cannot hide both heads in the shell in case of danger. Besides, if the two-headed turtle will turn upside down, then return back to four paws for her is almost impossible. So what are these animals? doomed to an early death. Therefore, to live a quarter of a century for such creatures is a real achievement.



At the Museum of Geneva, Janus has not only survived, but thrived. He doesn't have only two heads, but two more hearts and two pairs of lungs. At the same time, in it lives two personalities who do not always agree with each other: sometimes It is even difficult for Janus to decide in which direction to crawl.

One thing is for sure: Janus can share life hacks on how maintain good health and live long. For example, every morning Janus wakes up to music, plays sports, he even has his own tiny skateboard. The diet of Janus includes only organically pure salads, fruits and vegetables, and he also takes daily herbal baths.



Well, the turtle celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary with a party, and in as a treat received a delicious watermelon dessert, decorated pansies. We believe that with such support, Janus will be able to celebrate even more magnificently its half-century anniversary.