In light of a turtle synchro we posted not too long ago, this story about a “turtle divorce” seems eerily synchronistic.
Bibi and Poldi, female and male respectively, have been together for about 115 years. For the last 36 years they have lived together at an Australian zoo, and before that they were at a zoo in Switzerland. Staff members realized something was amiss when Bibi bit off part of Poldi’s shell. When the attacks continued, Bibi was moved to another cage.
Animal people – tortoise whisperers? – have tried to reunite the two with aphrodisiacs and other playful enticements, but haven’t had any success. The pair want nothing to do with each other.
There’s a lot that’s troubling about this story. I dislike the captivity of the turtles. If they were rescued, then that changes things in a major way. At Epcot, where our daughter did her Disney internship, the two manatees were rescues – they’re missing large parts of their dorsal fins, which were destroyed by boats. One of the manatees is missing 90 percent of its dorsal fin. It will never return to the wild. I support this kind of captivity.
But we don’t know from the article what the story is with these turtles, except that they’ve been together 115 years and are now divorced. Yes, 115 years is a long time to be with someone. Issues multiply, your partner does stuff that pushes your buttons, and after more than a century of it, you decide you’ve had enough and bite off part of your partner’s shell. Okay, we get that.
But what about the metaphorical interpretation? The shamanic interpretation about turtles? In their representation as mother earth and, in this case, as male/female energy, anima/animus/ or yin/yang – what are they saying by turning away from each other? What’s the message? Or, is there any message at all?
oh, now, cousin, let’s not judge on the issue of a valid female physiological condition – if i had to go there, i’d have to say maybe she just got tired of his running around with every other tortoise “chick” and/or that while she was still “young” wanted to play a bit herself – and/or that he was old and set in his ways and couldn’t cut the mustard any more and/or…………just sayin’….. 😉
As usual, I agree with Gyps. Must add, however, on a lighter note, perhaps Mrs. Tortoise has PMS ! 😉
ok – i also forgot to mention something rather unrelated [or not] that i saw parts of earlier this week on tv – the connection of the number 33 between the 1947 roswell ufo incident and mount hermon – just google and many sites will pop up immediately – really interesting reading –
oops – forgot to mention i’m in total agreement with the captive thing, as well – i never ever understood the concept of hunting and capturing critters living in their real world of the wild – notwithstanding perhaps the need for taking those injured and rehabilitating them and then releasing them back to their natural habitat – but as the TRUMP BOYS recently proved, it’s really all about money – wonder if none of those big game hunters ever saw the all-too-real PLANET OF THE APES…..
what a wonderful story on so many levels – first of all, that kind of relationship commitment in ANY world – animal or human or whatever – is something rare – and math’s points all well-taken – however, to me, this turn of events more than lends itself to the metaphorical/shamanic interpretation – as lauren says, even in the midst of the “it’s about time” shift of female energy rising, it seems to have left women back where we were pre-1960s with the good ole boy gender fighting and battling backward with every female step forward – the current political battle for male control over the female body alone is a major sign – a tangible splitting of the ways between the genders – now, for me, i’m looking around for an african american woman to run for president next term…that ought to knock a few socks off those good ole repub boys – great post, you two!
I think it’s simply a good publicity item for the zoo, it’s even mentioned on our main UK television news.
As for any meaning I don’t think we know if they’ve both fallen out or it’s just Bibi that has the grumps. Like you I’d prefer to see them out in the wild, 115 years is a long time to be held captive.
Perhaps she senses there may be something wrong with him, ie, he may have some type of beginning illness, and she is responding to that. I do know that animals, especially cats and dogs, wolves and elephants and dolphins, etc, have an internal sensor of some kind that alerts them when a comrade is ill or becoming ill or is injured. In some species, the ailing animal will be killed; in some species, the others take care of it. But somehow they KNOW. Maybe she doesn’t want to watch his demise? Every animal around our home senses that Sunshine has cancer, and even the most vicious chow next door treats her with deference, and he is brutal. The nighborhood felines also rub against her when we take her out, licking her and going nose-to-nose with her. Maybe Mrs. Tortoise has a sense that something is amiss with Mr. Tortoise and is leaving him as a result. I suspect he needs to be carefully watched for signs of illness!
good points. Then again, maybe the marriage has simply gone too long!
That does seem like an awfully long time to be married. Maybe she just had it with his snoring?
In response to the meaning of conflict between male and female, things are changing, and the Goddess energy is rising, I believe. Naturally, there’s a backlash……..witness the effort to deny women birth control, and the recent unanimous Republican rejection of a bill that would have granted women recourse to equal pay.
I hope all these repubs are voted OUT