Galapagos tortoises become first-time parents aged 100

Wednesday, 9 April 2025 10:20

By ARN News Centre

A couple of 100-year-old Galapagos tortoises have become parents for the first time, after giving birth to four hatchlings at Philadelphia Zoo.

The US zoo said it was "overjoyed" at the news that Abrazzo and Mommy had welcomed their newborns, at the age of 100.

It's the first time in the zoo's history that Galapagos tortoises have been born at the park.

Mommy is the oldest first-time mother of her species, having been born herself in 1932.

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Fewer than 50 Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises are kept in zoos in the US, and are considered critically endangered in the wild.

The four hatchlings - weighing between 70 and 80 grams - are being kept inside the zoo's Reptile and Amphibian House, and are said to be eating well.

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