The Philadelphia Zoo was stunned after it welcomed a historic birth by a pair of critically endangered giant tortoises aged about 100 years old.
Abrazzo and Mommy, two Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises, gave birth to four hatchlings as their first baby tortoises.
The births were a “first” in the zoo’s 150-year history, and Mommy, who arrived in 1932, was the oldest known first-time mother of her species, according to the BBC.
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This week, the zoo stated it was “overjoyed” with the arrival. After Abrazzo and Mommy’s first egg hatched on February 27, more soon followed. The zoo’s animal care team is keeping an eye on any others that may hatch in the coming weeks.
The four hatchlings each weighed between 70 and 80 grams.
“Mommy arrived at the zoo in 1932, meaning anyone that has visited the zoo for the last 92 years has likely seen her,” the zoo’s president and CEO, Jo-Elle Mogerman, said in a statement.
Abrazzo is a newcomer to Philadelphia, having relocated there in 2020 from the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina.
“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,” Mogerman stated.
Meanwhile, the hatchlings are being kept behind the scenes in the Reptile and Amphibian House at the Philadelphia Zoo. They are “eating and growing appropriately,” according to the zoo.
The quartet will make its public debut on Wednesday, April 23, “the 93rd anniversary of Mommy’s arrival at the zoo.”
The hatchlings are an initiative of the breeding program run by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which aims to preserve genetic diversity and ensure species survival.
Mogerman said, “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.”
Fewer than 50 Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises are housed in U.S. zoos. The species is critically endangered in the wild.
