When the staff at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Wash., was looking for names for the zoo’s Radiated Tortoises, they wanted something that referenced speed — which tortoises do not possess — as sort of a joke. Since the zoo is close to Seattle, birthplace of the Boeing Co., the zoo crew named the male tortoise “”Jumbo Jet.”” They kept the aviation theme going by giving the much smaller female tortoise the name “”Cessna.””
Visitors appreciate the names, although the aviation impaired tend to think “”Cessna”” is a Native American reference, due to the rich Native American history in the Pacific Northwest.
