The giant Aldabra tortoise was one of four brought by British seamen from the Seychelles Islands as gifts to Robert Clive of the East India Company in 1875. It died after a string of illnesses, Kolkata Zoo director Subir Chowdhury told AFP Thursday.

"Adwaitya (The Only One), who delighted the zoo visitors for 131 years, died on Wednesday morning," Chowdhury said. "His shell will be preserved in the zoo. All zoo employees are saddened by his death."

The three other tortoises given as gifts to Clive died soon after they arrived in Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, he said.

"Adwaitya spent his early days in Robert Clive's garden," the zookeeper said. He was later transferred to the Alipore zoo, located in the city's southern district, after it opened in 1875.

Despite his many years of life, he only became sick eight years ago when an infection was detected in his legs, Chowdhury said. He was successfully treated at that time.

"Our records show the tortoise was born in 1750, but some have claimed he was born in 1705," he said. He added that the zoo will use a scientific method known as carbon-dating to determine his real age.

Adwaitya became ill several months ago after a crack developed around a wound on his chest, Chowdhury said.

The average lifespan of an Aldabra tortoise is well beyond 100 years, according to the website of the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas.

Most of the tortoises are found on Aldabra, an atoll of four large coral islands in the Indian Ocean. The atoll has been protected from human influence and is home to some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world's largest population of the animal, according to the United Nations world heritage body.

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