The Philadelphia Zoo is celebrating a rare and historic event: the birth of four Gal?pagos tortoise hatchlings.
The parents, Abrazzo and Mommy, are Western Santa Cruz Gal?pagos tortoises. They are both about 100 years old. This is the first time either has become a parent, and the first time the zoo has seen this species hatch in its 150-year history.
The first egg hatched on Feb. 27, with the other three following soon after. Each hatchling weighs between 70 and 80 grams. They are now growing well behind the scenes in the zoo’s Reptile and Amphibian House.
Mommy came to the zoo in 1932 and is now the oldest known first-time mother of her species. Abrazzo arrived in 2020 from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina.
The public met the hatchlings on April 23, which marked Mommy’s 93rd anniversary at the zoo.
Western Santa Cruz Gal?pagos tortoises are critically endangered. Fewer than 50 live in U.S. zoos, and only 3,400 individuals remain in the wild.