An older resident of a southern zoo in Florida celebrated his 135th anniversary and his first Fathers Day on Sunday.
Goliath, a galapagos of 517 pounds (234 kilograms) tortoise has Miami zoobecame a father for the first time earlier this month, Zoo officials said.
“Goliath is my hero, and I’m sure he will soon be an inspiration for many others!” Zoo Miami spokesperson Ron Magill said in a statement. “There is living proof that where there is a will, there is a means and never to abandon!”
An egg from an eight pocket on January 27 managed to hatch on June 4, officials announced.
In addition to being Goliath’s first offspring, it is also the first time that one of the threatened reptiles has hatched in Zoo Miami.
The number of animals was considerably reduced before the 20th century by human exploitation and the introduction of invasive species to the Galapagos Islands. Modern threats include climate change and loss of habitat.
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According to the official record of Goliath, he hatched on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on June 15, between 1885 and 1890. The island group was located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, several hundred kilometers west of the continental equator.
Goliath arrived at the Bronx zoo in 1929 and moved to Zoo Miami in 1981. He raised with several different women during his stay in Zoo Miami, but he never considered offspring. The mother of the new trackling, Sweet Pea, is estimated between 85 and 100 years old.
Both parents are doing well in their public habitat, officials said. The newborn seems to be healthy in a separate enclosure. Wild newborns are not raised by their parents.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press