Organism
Giant Tortoise
TL;DR
The tortoise exemplifies low metabolic rate and extreme longevity - the biological equivalent of a bootstrapped company optimizing for decades.
The tortoise exemplifies low metabolic rate and extreme longevity - the biological equivalent of a bootstrapped company optimizing for decades. Burning just 10 calories/day at 100kg body weight (0.0001 cal/g/day), tortoises live 150+ years. They burn slow and live centuries. The hummingbird-tortoise contrast illustrates the fundamental tradeoff: fast growth = short life, slow growth = long life.
Notable Traits of Giant Tortoise
- 0.0001 cal/g/day metabolic rate
- 150+ year lifespan
- Low metabolism = long life