A 97-year-old Galapagos tortoise has given birth to four hatchlings and become the oldest first-time mother of her species, the Philadelphia Zoo said. Mommy and her similarly-aged partner, Abrazzo, both belonging to the western Santa Cruz subspecies, are the facility’s oldest residents and now its first parents in 150 years.
“This is a significant milestone in the history of Philadelphia Zoo, and we couldn’t be more excited to share this news with our city, region, and the world,” Jo-Elle Mogerman, President & Chief Executive, said in a statement on April 3.
“Mommy arrived at the Zoo in 1932, meaning anyone that has visited the Zoo for the last 92 years has likely seen her. Philadelphia Zoo’s vision is that those hatchlings will be a part of a thriving population of Galapagos tortoises on our healthy planet 100 years from now.”
The first of these critically-endangered newborns hatched on February 27; all are currently being looked after in the zoo’s Reptile and Amphibian House. The tortoises are to make their public debut on April 23, which will mark 93 years to Mommy’s arrival at the zoo.
There are few Galapagos tortoises as genetically valuable as Mommy under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP). Although many accredited facilities have breeding pairs, the last time one hatched was in 2019 at the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina.
“This feat is even more incredible considering that Mommy is the oldest first-time producing female of her species in any US zoo,” Ashley Ortega, Galapagos Tortoise SSP Coordinator and Studbook Keeper for Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas, said.
“Prior to the hatchlings, there were only 44 individual Western Santa Cruz Giant tortoises in all US zoos combined, so these newest additions represent a new genetic lineage and some much-needed help to the species’ population.”
