Galapagos - 2005; The Galápagos tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise, weighing in at over 880 pounds with a length of almost 6 feet. Giant tortoises are one of the longest-lived vertebrates, with life spans in the wild of over 100 years. Tortoises are cold-blooded and often bask in the sun during the morning hours before beginning their daily rummaging in search of food. It has been said that tortoises are deaf, but they just depend far more on vision and smell. On this particular morning – it took 30 minutes of sitting very still before this Galapagos tortoise opened and began moving in my direction.