Galapagos giant tortoise fathers first time at 70 years old

The pair of young turtles weigh only 67 and 69 g, equivalent to the weight of a kiwi. Zookeepers are keeping a close eye on them and feeding them hay, pear cactus, weeds and green leaves. Although they look quite small, young turtles will reach giant sizes when they become adults. The Galapagos tortoise is the largest living tortoise in the world, which can weigh up to 400 kg.

“We are very proud to have successfully bred this endangered tortoise. They are still facing an uncertain future, mainly due to over-hunting and egg-eating by invasive animals. All We’ve all been looking forward to this day since the Galapagos tortoises joined the zoo in 2018. It’s a huge achievement for conservation,” said Shaun Foggett, founder of Crocodiles of the World.

For breeding, zookeepers chose Dirk, a 70-year-old Galapagos tortoise who first came to Britain in the 1960s. Despite his age, he was still in good shape, weighing 165 kg. They paired Dirk with 21-year-old female tortoise Charlie in November 2021. In total, the Crocodiles of the World Zoo is home to four adult Galapagos tortoises, including two female Zuzu and Isabella and two male turtles Charlie and Dirk. They were transferred to the zoo in 2018 from Chester Zoo and ZSL London. However, the turtles did not lay any eggs for the first 3 years, proving the difficulty of breeding this species.

The Galapagos Giant Tortoise is one of the most famous animals in the Galapagos Islands. They first came to the Galapagos from South America 2 – 3 million years ago, differentiated into 14 different species in shape and distribution. According to the Galapagos Conservation Trust, despite their diversity in shape and size, all species can be classified into two main groups: dome-shaped (living on large, wet and vegetated islands) and morphopods. convex (living on arid islands where food is less abundant).

An Khang (According to Mail)