Philadelphia Zoo

Couple new parents to 4 babies at nearly 100 years old? It happened in Philadelphia

Four hatchlings were born to a couple of Galapagos tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo who are closing in on the century mark.

USA TODAY

Imagine having a baby at 50 years old.

Imagine having four babies at 50 years old.

Now, imagine having four babies at almost 100 years old.

A Philadelphia couple − actually, a couple of endangered Galapagos tortoises − are now parents to a quad of hatchlings. They are the first successful hatching of this species in the history of the nation's oldest zoo − to parents Mommy and Abrazzo.

The pair of Western Santa Cruz tortoises, who've been at the Philadelphia Zoo since 1932 and 2020, respectively, are two of the zoo's most popular residents. Mommy is believed to be the oldest first-time mother of her species, the zoo said in a news release Thursday.

The four hatchlings started cracking from their shells on Feb. 27 and will make their public debut on April 23, the 93rd anniversary of their mother's arrival at the zoo, which opened in 1874. They're all eating and growing well, the zoo said, weighing 70-80 grams, or about as much as a chicken egg.

Hatching plans to save the species

The breeding effort was part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan, which works to ensure not only the continuation of species but also their genetic diversity.

Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises are critically endangered because of habitat loss, invasive species and human-wildlife conflict. The last time the species hatched in an AZA-accredited zoo was in 2019 at the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina. Breeding pairs are also at the San Diego Zoo, Miami Zoo and Honolulu Zoo.

Four hatchlings, all females, were born to a pair of Galapagos tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo. The parents are each estimated to be 100 years old.

Female tortoises typically lay 2-20 eggs about the size of billiard balls in a hole, the zoo said, and Mommy laid 16 eggs in November. The zoo's reptile and amphibian team dug them up, incubating them at different temperatures to nurture four male and four female tortoises. Four prior egg clutches from Mommy failed to yield any viable eggs, but this time, all four female hatched. (Temperatures below 82.4 degrees result in males; above 85.1 degrees produce females.)

Mommy, a Galapagos tortoise who's estimated to be at least 100 years old and been at the Philadelphia Zoo since 1932, became a first-time mom recently when four of her eggs hatched.

Meet the parents

Mommy arrived at the Philadelphia Zoo on April 23, 1932, and was believed to be about 4 years old. She weighs 284 pounds and her age now is estimated to be 97. She hatched in the wild in the Galapagos Islands. Milton W. Holden, who went on an extended trip to the islands with philanthropist and businessman Vincent Astor, brought her to Philadelphia.

Four female hatchlings were born to a pair of 100-year-old Galapagos tortoises at the Philadelphia Zoo. They'll make their public debut April 23.

Abrazzo, the hatchlings' father, came to the Philadelphia Zoo from the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina in December 2020. He's estimated to be 96, and hatched in the wild, like Mommy. The first records about Abrazzo are from April 1929 at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas.

Four tortoises hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo in February. They're growing and thriving, and the zoo will soon enlist the public's help to name them.

Galapagos tortoises are the largest living species of tortoises; males grow to an average of about 500 pounds and females to about 250 pounds. Scientists estimate they can live from 100 to 200 years, and they spend their days basking in the sun, grazing and lazing.

In addition to their new arrivals, Mommy and Abrazzo also live with a third Galapagos tortoise, Little Girl, and two giant Aldabra tortoises, Wilma and Betty.

Do you want to share a slice of Americana with USA TODAY? Contact Phaedra Trethan by email at ptrethan@usatoday.com, on X (formerly Twitter) @wordsbyphaedra, on BlueSky @byphaedra, or on Threads @by_phaedra

Featured Weekly Ad