Zoo's tortoises become first-time parents... aged about 100

A pair of critically endangered giant tortoises aged about 100 years old have become first-time parents at Philadelphia Zoo.

The zoo said this week it was "overjoyed" at the arrival of four hatchlings from Abrazzo and Mommy, a pair Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises.

The births were a "first" in the zoo's 150-plus-year history, it said, and Mommy - who arrived in 1932 - was the oldest known first-time mother of her species.

Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises are critically endangered in the wild, and there are fewer than 50 kept in US zoos.

The first of Abrazzo and Mommy's eggs hatched on 27 February, and others quickly followed. The zoo's animal care team is monitoring others that could still hatch in the coming weeks.

The four hatchlings weigh between 70 and 80 grams.

They are being kept behind-the-scenes, inside Philadelphia Zoo's Reptile and Amphibian House, and are "eating and growing appropriately", the zoo said.

It is planning a public debut of the quartet on Wednesday 23 April, which is "the 93rd anniversary of Mommy's arrival at the zoo".

The hatchlings are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' breeding programme, aimed at the survival of species and genetic diversity.

"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," the zoo's president and CEO Jo-Elle Mogerman said in a statement.

"Mommy arrived at the zoo in 1932, meaning anyone that has visited the zoo for the last 92 years has likely seen her," Ms Mogerman said.

Abrazzo is a newer arrival, having moved to Philadelphia in 2020 after previously living at 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," she added.