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Giant Galapagos Tortoises are unbelievably large animals. Fully grown, they would fill the passenger compartment of a small car. Weighing up to 227kg (500lb), they are slow moving, but very powerful. These tortoises are believed capable of living up to 200 years. This means that a large specimen like this one might have been alive when Charles Darwin made his famous voyage on the HMS Beagle in 1835, leading him to discoveries that shaped his theories of evolution. Tortoises lay eggs each year, although few survive, due to their vulnerability when they are young. They cannot outrun even the slowest of predators, and they are not equipped to fight. Their only defense is to retreat inside their thick shells and wait for the predator to tire and leave. Capable of going without food and water for up to one year, they can out-wait any creature on the planet.