Happy Birthday To Hugo The Giant Galapagos Tortoise And Nobody Else

hugo the tortoise birthday

A giant Galapagos tortoise by the name of Hugo has turned the big 6-9 today, and I think he deserves a birthday shout out.

Hugo, who is a beloved resident of the Australian Reptile Park, was delivered a three-tiered fruit cake to celebrate his big day. The ‘cake’ was made from rockmelon, squash and watermelon, and had an apple carved to look like a tortoise perfectly positioned on the top. I mean it when I say the Australian Reptile Park do not fuck around when it comes to birthdays.

To celebrate his big day, visitors to the park were allowed to get up close and personal with the adorable grandpa tortoise to give him all of the shell scratches he could ever wish for. Tortoises are essentially just slightly scary-looking dogs.

‘I always say if you didn’t give Hugo’s shell a rub, you haven’t visited the Australian Reptile Park! It really does give you good luck,’ Head of Reptiles Daniel Rumsey said.

Hugo has been at the Australian Reptile Park since 1963, and is a beloved member of the family, which is why they splashed out on a special cake to make his day.

“Hugo is honestly one of the most amazing animals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He has such a great personality, and, in a way, it feels like he knows we’re celebrating his birthday! I could have sworn he smiled when he saw the cake,” Rumsey said.

The cake smash seems to be a bit of a tradition for Hugo, with his last two birthdays also involving a highly-publicised melon cake

I know 69 sounds pretty old, but the 178kg tortoise is predicted to live to the ripe old age of 150, so we’ve got plenty more melon cakes to share with him.

Hugo is one of the most popular attractions at the park. If you’ve ever been to the Central Coast park, you’d know just how spectacular this creature really is.

Happy Birthday Hugo, you adorable old man.

hugo tortoise birthday cake

More Stuff From PEDESTRIAN.TV