Mr Turpen is a male
Galapagos tortoise that lives in the
Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands ( ; Pitkern: '), officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the ...
. These animals were known as "
turpins", for example
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
wrote "Met an immense Turpin; took little notice of me."
History
Mr Turpen was brought to the Pitcairn Islands on the
brigantine
A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts.
Ol ...
''Yankee'' in 1937.
He was unloaded by longboat, at
Bounty Bay. Mr Turpen is the only survivor of the five Galapagos tortoises brought to the Pitcairn Islands between 1937 and 1951.
An ordinance was passed to protect Mr Turpen, by the
Island Council; anyone harming him is liable to 60 days imprisonment.
On 14 January 2000 the Pitcairn Islands issued a set of postage stamps celebrating Mr Turpen and the protection ordinance.
References
Individual tortoises
Fauna of the Pitcairn Islands
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