Galapagos tortoise hatchlings arrive at the Philadelphia Zoo, and their mom sets a record
The hatchlings began emerging in late February and will make their public debut April 23.
The Philadelphia Zoo officially has a few new residents, in the form of four Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoise hatchlings that were bred and hatched at the zoo — a first in its 150-year history.
“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,” zoo president and CEO Jo-Elle Mogerman said. “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.”
Weighing 70 to 80 grams, the hatchlings, who began emerging in late February, are being held behind the scenes in the zoo’s Reptile and Amphibian House. They are expected to make their public debut April 23. All are female, and do not yet have names, though the zoo expects to announce how the public can help name them in the near future.
The hatchlings’ parents, female Mommy and male Abrazzo, however, are likely well-known to zoo-goers. Both are estimated to be about 100 years old, with Mommy having arrived in Philadelphia in 1932 at about age 4, meaning if you’ve been to the zoo over the last century or so, you’ve probably caught a glimpse of her.
April 23, incidentally, will mark the 93rd anniversary of Mommy’s arrival in town.
Abrazzo, meanwhile, came to the Philadelphia in late 2020 from the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina on a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan program. The program is designed to help ensure the survival of the Galapagos tortoise species, which is critically endangered.
Mommy and Abrazzo were born in the wild on the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, the zoo said in a statement. Abrazzo’s earliest records in the country date back to April 1929.
The hatchlings come from Mommy’s fourth clutch of eggs since 2023, which she laid in November. Galapagos tortoise eggs, laid in clutches of two to 20, typically hatch after four to eight months, and the sex of the babies is determined by the temperature at which they incubate (below 82.4 degrees for males, and above 85.1 for females). The zoo’s reptile and amphibian team dug up Mommy’s 16 eggs and incubated half as females and half as males.
More hatchlings may emerge as the weeks progress. Mommy has become the oldest known first-time mother Galapagos tortoise in the world, and is considered among the most genetically valuable members of her species in human care, the zoo said in a statement.
“This is a monumental achievement for our animal care team that worked diligently to provide the right conditions for Mommy to lay her eggs and for the eggs to incubate and successfully hatch,” said Lauren Augustine, the zoo’s director of herpetology and birds. “This successful outcome comes from years of hard work studying animal behavior and providing top-level care.”
In addition to being a first for the zoo and Mommy, the hatchlings’ arrival in Philly marks something of a rare occurrence for zoos nationwide. In fact, before these hatchlings, there were just 44 Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises across all zoos in the United States, said Ashley Ortega of Texas’ Gladys Porter Zoo, the Galapagos tortoise Species Survival Plan coordinator. And no hatchlings of that species have been born at an accredited zoo since 2019, when a clutch hatched at the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.
“These newest additions represent a new genetic lineage and some much-needed help to the species’ population,” Ortega said. “We are excited to learn more about how we can replicate this success at other accredited zoos since the team in Philly has accomplished something that was seemingly impossible.”
The hatchlings will remain in Philadelphia for at least five years. Galapagos tortoises can live up to 200 years, and reach sexual maturity between 20 and 25 years old.
But for now, Philadelphians have to wait only a few weeks to see them in the flesh. Until then, Mommy and Abrazzo are available for visitation, and can be seen up close as part of the zoo’s Behind-the-Scenes Experiences program, which runs for tortoises Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at a cost of $65.