Other events in Baltic States

The Galapagos giant tortoises of the Riga Zoo have gained weight since last year.

The traditional weighing of the Galapagos giant tortoises took place for the 16th time at the Riga Zoo today. The weighing traditionally was performed by Defense Minister, former Latvian strongman, Raimonds Bergmanis. The results were noted down by Riga Mayor Nils Usakovs .

Bergmanis with the help of Latvian troops weighed 23-year old Galapagos tortoises Trina and Celsija. Celsija’s weight has risen from 85 kilograms to 89.5 kilograms since last year, and Trina’s weight has grown by 12 kilograms to 104 kilograms.

The tortoises arrived at the Riga Zoo in 1995 and weighed around 40 kilograms at the time. the zoo’s information service reported.

The traditional weighing event aims to attract public attention to the environment problems. The Galapagos tortoises are native to the Galapagos Islands. Only ten subspecies of the original fifteen survive in the wild, five subspecies have already gone extinct.