For most animals, a bite of banana would not be news. For Gus, a 104-year-old gopher tortoise recovering from surgery in Halifax, it was the moment his keepers had been hoping to see.
The Museum of Natural History shared a new recovery video showing Gus eating banana and lettuce from a person’s hand. Its description captures the soundtrack: food crunching, with staff quietly celebrating nearby. Your Halifax Now reported the update on November 2, identifying it as a museum post from Sunday.
A small meal, a meaningful step
Since an October 13 operation to remove a bladder stone, Gus has received food and medicine through a feeding tube. His caregivers have also been offering ordinary food before tube feeds to see whether he wants to eat.
This time, he did. In its recovery update, the museum called that a significant step forward. The scene is wonderfully undramatic: a tortoise, a familiar snack, and people delighted to hear him crunch.
It is not an announcement that his recovery is finished. The museum says the tube will remain available for food and vitamins, while staff continue offering food and water and documenting his interest for his veterinary team.
Why the operation waited
The museum’s medical history for Gus explains that veterinarians first detected the stone in 2009. It was not bothering him then, and the surgical approach available would have required cutting through his shell.
Monitoring was the choice while he remained comfortable. More recently, imaging showed that the stone had enlarged and was pressing on nearby tissue. Meanwhile, a less invasive option had become available: reaching the bladder through soft tissue near a rear leg, without cutting the shell.
The museum reported that the October 13 procedure succeeded. It anticipated another eight to ten weeks of recovery behind the scenes after his return.
More than a museum resident
Gus arrived in Nova Scotia in 1942, after museum director Don Crowdis bought him in Florida for five dollars. His name later honored John Augustus Gilhen, a young museum volunteer whose shoe Gus would tap when he wanted a snack.
That makes the latest update especially fitting. Food has long been part of how this particular tortoise connects with the people around him. After weeks of assisted feeding, the encouraging news is simple: Gus wanted a bite.
Image: Gus at the museum on March 18, 2026, before his surgery. Photograph by RoskovaQc, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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