Bibi and Poldi

Atlas Obscura is one of my favorite websites.  They have many interesting stories and an email newsletter. You never know what you will find if you poke around on their site.  Recently I came upon the story of Bibi and Poldi.  

Bibi and Poldi are two Galapagos tortoises that live at the Reptilienzoo Happ in Klagenfurt, Austria.  They were hatched around 1897, and grew up together at a zoo in Switzerland, and had been a couple since the 1920's. They moved to Austria together in the 1970's.  

One day in November 2011, something changed. A keeper says Bibi bit off a large chunk of Poldi's shell with her powerful jaws, drawing blood.  The keepers were afraid they would kill each other.  

After spending nearly 100 years sleeping with their shells touching, they had to be separated. The keepers tried everything they could think of.  After moving Poldi to a temporary bachelor's apartment, they tried arranging a date night.  Bib and Poldi did not make up. The zoo tried counseling, and then introducing fake plastic tortoises, which didn't fool anyone.  Time magazine said, "If they can't make it work, what hope do the rest of us have?" 

Years after the split, Bibi still does not want to have anything to do with Poldi. The zoo was forced to create two separate houses, with two baths. Not wanting to give up entirely, the zoo keepers installed a glass window in the wall that divides the two gardens.  Bibi likes to hang out in the garden and eat grass.  When she looks up and sees Poldi, she hisses like a snake.  The message is clear - she doesn't want to live with him.  

Check out Atlas Obscura - interesting places and stories!