97-year-old Galápagos tortoise becomes first-time mom
“Mommy arrived at the Zoo in 1932, meaning anyone that has visited the Zoo for the last 92 years has likely seen her,” said Philadelphia Zoo President and CEO Jo-Elle Mogerman. “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.”
Nearly 100-year-old tortoise becomes 1st-time mom to 4 baby hatchlings
The first of the four hatchlings, all female, began to emerge from its white, hard-shelled egg on Feb. 27, the zoo said. The four hatchlings are part of a clutch of 16 eggs Mommy laid back in November 2024, and the zoo's animal care team is continuing to monitor additional eggs that may hatch in upcoming weeks.
The different species vary in size, with the largest being the Burmese mountain tortoise (also known as the Asian brown tortoise). It reaches up to 60cm in length and weighs up to 20-37kg.
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Desert tortoises have lived in the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah since the Pleistocene. In the early years of the 20th century, they still thrived within the Southwest's arid ...
She notes that at least fourteen of the Galápagos islands are thought to have unique giant tortoise species, and historically humans have transported them between the islands. Thus, it seemed ...
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