The Naples Zoo has developed an opportunity for visitors to get to know its Galapagos Tortoise up close.
“Our tortoise encounter involves going behind the scenes, and with our Galapagos tortoise. Her name is Poppy. And she loves people and loves interacting with them,” said Evangeline Kilmer-Duncan of the zoo’s education department.
She leads visitors right up to Poppy’s habitat. There, they meet with animal care specialist Gage Denney, who teaches them how to “target train” Poppy. That involves holding a red ball on a wand near her, and when she reacts to it, rewarding her with a piece of the fresh veggies that she loves.
The staff estimates Poppy’s age at about 8-12 years old, but they can’t be sure, because Poppy was rescued from an illegal smuggling operation at the Port of Miami. From there, she was brought to live at the Naples Zoo when she was a much younger tortoise.
Denney says she weighs in about 100 pounds and she socializes at the zoo with Astro, a radiated tortoise, as well as the staff and the visitors who come see her.
The Budd family, in Naples from Toronto, visited with Poppy the day we were there. They learned that tortoises can feel through their shells, and everyone had a chance to give Poppy a back scratch. James Budd says his young daughter Bonnie is a big fan of turtles.
“She talks about turtles all the time. We go to a serpentarium near our house, and the turtles are the things that have always drawn her in,” Budd said.
He added: “I didn't know they could feel through their shells. That's kind of cool.”
For more information on the Wild Encounters program, go to napleszoo.org.
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