Aldabra Atoll, an island in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar and Tanzania, is a paradise for more than 100,000 giant tortoises. There are no fishermen hunting them to near extinction, and no large crocodiles that may have preyed upon them in prehistoric times, according to a new study. Dennis Hansen, an ecologist from the University of Zurich was studying the coral atoll and its azure lagoon when he discovered fossils. They included part of a giant tortoise shell with circular bite marks and the jaw of an ancient crocodilian, writes The New York Times. He and his colleagues concluded that some 90,000 to 125,000 years ago, the ancient crocodiles may have feasted upon the giant tortoises of Aldabra. This offers some insight into the past of the world’s most numerous giant tortoise and the threats it once faced. The Aldabra is the second largest tortoise, measuring more than 3 feet long and 550 pounds on average. Crocodile fossils had been found on the island before but the remains Dr. Hansen found suggested they belonged to creatures that were about 11 and a half feet long, which is larger than today’s West African crocodiles, but not as big as Nile or saltwater crocs.
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