Giant Turtle
There are legends all over the world that there are giant turtles that live under the sea or in the forest, where humans rarely see them. In reality, most turtles are quite large, but not so large that they can be considered giant.
There is one giant turtle, however, and it is the leatherback turtle, which can grow up to one meter in length and weight over 2,000 pounds. However, they live in the ocean and are able to achieve that ‘giant turtle’ status as a result of that. On land, most turtles will not exceed 600 pounds or more.
Myths
There are several myths of giant turtles around the world, stretching from North America to Asia, usually with the myth detailing how the giant turtle holds the universe, or the world, on top of its back.
One myth that has gained ground in pop culture references in the past few years is the ‘It’s turtles all the way down’.
As detailed in Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, a well-known scientist is giving a lecture on astronomy, telling how everything orbits the sun in the solar system, which itself orbits the galaxy. Following the lecture, a little old woman stands up and says “What you have told us is rubbish, the world is flat and supported on the back of a giant tortoise.” To which the scientist replies, “What is the turtle standing on?” At this point, the woman replied You’re a very clever young man, very clever. But it is turtles all the way down!”
Sightings
There have been sightings of giant turtles around the world, some saying they can grow to the size of a small car, but these are unconfirmed and can be catalogued with other sightings of fabled creatures.
Conclusion
Giant turtles do exist, in the form of leatherback turtles that weight 2,000 pounds, however, unless we look back millions of years to the turtle’s ancestors, the giant turtle my just be a myth. There is nothing saying that turtles may not evolve to grow very large one day, but currently, they are large enough but not giant.
That is not to say there are no giant turtles in existence, and one day, we may see a giant turtle wander its way out of the forest, but until that day, we will have to simply watch the leatherback turtle swim through the water.