A tortoise believed to be about 420 years old, popularly known as Baba, has died at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo in Oyo State.

Baba, regarded as a treasured relic of the ancient Oyo Kingdom, reportedly died on Monday after falling ill. The tortoise was later buried, according to the palace.

The Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, Bode Durojaiye, disclosed this in a statement issued in Ibadan on Thursday.

Durojaiye said Baba had been cared for by successive Alaafins and had become an important part of the palace’s history and cultural heritage.

“Baba was more than a turtle in status. He represented a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race. Now, the Alaafin has lost an ageless companion,” he said.

According to the palace, oral tradition traced Baba’s origin to Oyo-Ile, the former capital of the Oyo Empire, from where it was reportedly brought to the present palace in Oyo town.

Over the years, Baba became a tourist attraction, drawing visitors to the palace who wanted to see the animal because of its reported age and size.

The palace said two officials were assigned to care for Baba, which was fed with watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves and grass.

Baba reportedly fell ill on Monday and stopped eating before its death.

The palace described the tortoise as more than just an animal, saying it had become a symbol of the oral history and traditions of the Oyo Kingdom.

It said Baba was believed to have inherited its name from its advanced age, with “Baba” traditionally signifying an elderly male. The animal was also described as strong, friendly and capable of attracting crowds to the palace.

“In Oyo, Baba was regarded as the oldest indigene. It was the Paramount Ruler’s most besotted pet. The Monarch met it in the Palace. Baba was nourished by a succession of kings, who inherited him as part of the relics of their ancestors,” the statement said.

The palace further connected Baba’s significance to Yoruba traditional beliefs about the relationship between the living, the dead and the unborn, referencing Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka’s play, Death and the King’s Horseman.

Although the reported age of 420 years is based on oral history and palace tradition, Baba’s death has been described by the Alaafin’s palace as the loss of a longstanding companion and a unique symbol of Oyo’s cultural heritage.