Galapagos tortoise, aged 150, put down in California Published duration 21 June 2015

image copyright AP image caption Speed was brought to California in the 1930s as part of efforts to preserve the endangered species from the Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador

A giant Galapagos tortoise more than 150 years old has been put down at a zoo in California.

The tortoise, known as Speed, had been in geriatric decline for some time.

Keepers at San Diego Zoo had used acupuncture and hydrotherapy to treat his arthritis and other ailments.

Speed had been brought to California in 1933 as part of a programme to preserve the endangered species from the Volcan Cerro Azul island of the Galapagos, off Ecuador.

Thirteen Galapagos tortoises remain at the zoo.

The group has produced more than 90 offspring which can be found in many other zoos.

Many of them have been sired by Speed.