By Isobel Williams via SWNS
This video shows three 29-year-old Galápagos giant tortoises being weighed at London Zoo – using traffic cones.
Footage shows Dolly, Polly, and Priscilla plodding over to their weighing boards guided by food and brightly colored cones.
The tortoises are some of the slowest-moving residents at the zoo, in Regent’s Park.
In order to get the gentle giants on the scales, zookeepers used a tactic called station training – a process where the tortoises are trained to walk over to a chosen area.
Three brightly colored cones were placed around the enclosure – one for each tortoise – to lure them to their designated spot.
Once they arrived each tortoise was rewarded with their favorite leafy snack, radicchio.
According to the zookeepers, weighing the animals regularly is important for monitoring their health and seeing whether they are carrying any eggs.
Zookeeper Jamie Mitchell said: “Today, Dolly, Polly and Priscilla were weighed for the first time using our new station training process using these colored traffic cones.
“Whenever a new object is introduced into their home, it can take a while for them to feel comfortable with it, so regular training is key for us to familiarize them with it, and ensure we can keep a constant eye on their health.”
When Charles Darwin, who was an early fellow of the zoo, visited the Galápagos in 1835, he learned of variations in the tortoises from different islands – which helped him form his revolutionary theory of natural selection.
