90-year-old male tortoise becomes father for the first time

90-year-old male turtle gives birth to first child

Pickles and his mate, a 53-year-old female tortoise, have lived together since 1996, when the female first arrived at the Houston Zoo. Their first litter consisted of three hatchlings named Dill, Gherkin and Dill. smithsonian Reported on March 24.

The baby tortoise’s arrival has conservationists excited, not just because of its father’s age, but because the species, which has so few live births, is listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.

If the curator hadn’t noticed that the female turtle was laying eggs, Kimchi’s eggs might not have hatched. Because the soil at the Houston Zoo was not suitable for the eggs, staff moved them to the Reptile and Amphibian Home.

The eggs are carefully monitored by staff and kept at a moderate temperature, starting at around 10C, then at room temperature and then up to 27C in the incubator. Female turtles lay eggs in October and hatch in mid-February.

characteristics of a tortoise Radiated Star Turtle The yellow lines radiate from the center of each nub on the carapace, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. They are native to the island of Madagascar before being introduced to the nearby islands of Reunion and Mauritius. They have lost their native habitat due to deforestation for mining and agriculture. Poachers are estimated to take about 20,000 sea turtles from the wild each year for the illegal pet and meat trade.

turtle Radiated Star Turtle Houston Zoo spokeswoman Jessica Reyes said they can live up to 150 years, but researchers don’t know how long they can reproduce. This reptile is about 40 cm long and weighs about 10 kg. In the wild, they live in dry forests and scrub, coastal plateaus and sand dunes. They mainly eat grass, fruit and succulents.

Qiu Tao (Theo smithsonian)