Health · Healthcare & Policy · 10 hrs ago
Halifax's 104-year-old tortoise Gus receives support ahead of bladder surgery
Gus is a 104-year-old gopher tortoise who lives at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The museum says he is believed to be the oldest gopher tortoise in the world.
He has lived there since 1942 and is known for daily walks that visitors can join.
Gus is due to have surgery on Tuesday to remove a bladder stone.
His veterinary team first found the stone in 2009, and a recent scan showed it had grown and was pressing on nearby tissue.
In the two weeks since the surgery was announced, supporters have sent hundreds of cards, letters and artworks, as well as thousands of online messages.
Gus will recover privately at the museum for several weeks and pause his public walks.
Gus, a 104-year-old gopher tortoise at Halifax’s Museum of Natural History, is due to have surgery for a bladder stone on Tuesday.
Hundreds of letters, cards and pieces of art have been sent to him, and the museum’s social media accounts have received thousands of messages.
A recent scan showed that the stone has grown and is pressing on nearby tissue.
Gus will recover privately at the museum for several weeks and take a break from his public walks.
He has been part of the museum since 1942 and is believed to have hatched in 1922.
- Who
- Gus, a 104-year-old gopher tortoise at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax.
- What
- He is due to undergo surgery for a bladder stone.
- When
- Tuesday; the article was published on Oct. 11, 2026.
- Where
- The Museum of Natural History in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- Why
- A recent scan showed the bladder stone had grown and was pressing on nearby tissue.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
It's just so lovely that people have this sort of universal experience with Gus … people who visited Gus when they were a child, they return with their children, they return with their grandchildren
I have a new idol. Someone I want to emulate when I'm 104.
I think that he's really good … I hope that he's going to take [the surgery] well
I saw him and I thought, 'Yeah. I'd die for him.'
Gus is believed to have hatched.
Gus became part of the Museum of Natural History in Halifax.
Gus's veterinary team first became aware of a bladder stone.
The museum announced that Gus would undergo surgery, after which supporters sent hundreds of letters, cards and art pieces.
Gus is due to have surgery for the bladder stone.
- Age
- 104 years old
- Surgery
- Bladder stone surgery planned for Tuesday
- Support
- Hundreds of letters, cards and art pieces; thousands of social media messages
- Museum
- Museum of Natural History in Halifax
- Museum arrival
- 1942
Sources
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