A few turtles from the Galapagos Islands within the west of Santa Cruz, about 100 years outdated, have change into dad and mom for the primary time within the Philadelphia Zoo within the United States. The specimens Mommy y Abrao They belong to a species that has fought to outlive in nature, so the hatching of the 4 eggs – all females – not solely marks a milestone within the greater than 150 years of historical past of the enclosure. It additionally affords a ray of sunshine on the efforts of preservation of species in crucial hazard of extinction. “The young, which are currently outside the spotlights in the house of reptiles and amphibians, feed and grow properly, weighing between 70 and 80 grams,” stated the enclosure in a press release.
The first breeding hatched on February 27 and the animal care staff monitored the remaining eggs that did it fairly rapidly. So, Mommy He has change into probably the most lengthy -lived mom within the zoo, as a result of he has lived there for many years, since he arrived in 1932. And it’s probably that any of his guests of the final 92 years have seen her. Abrao He moved to Philadelphia in 2020 after residing within the Zoological and Garden Riverbanks of South Carolina, the place turtles of the Galapagos de Santa Cruz Western had been reproduced in 2019.
“The vision of the Philadelphia Zoo is that these young are part of a prosperous population of Galapagos turtles on our planet within 100 years,” stated Jo-Elle Mogerman, president and government director. Caretakers, who intently supervised Mommy During all this time, they celebrated the information that represents a sworn statement of the constructive impression of conservation initiatives. Mommy He put 16 eggs in November 2024 and had been positioned in a man-made incubator. The intercourse of Galapagos turtle offspring is set by the temperature at which eggs are incubated. Although caregivers incubated half of the eggs on the temperature of the males and the opposite half to that of the females, thus far they’ve solely hatched females eggs.
The younger are a part of the breeding program of the Sustainability Program of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums within the nation to ensure the survival of this species and keep a genetically various inhabitants. Before the offspring, there have been solely 44 copies of big turtles within the west of Santa Cruz in all of the US zoos, so the brand new incorporations signify a brand new genetic lineage and “a very necessary help for the population of the species,” added Ashley Ortega, coordinator of this system. The story of Mommy It is a reminder that even 100 years, nature can all the time shock.
The risk of local weather change
The Giant Tortuga of Santa Cruz faces critical threats as a result of lack of habitat, local weather change and unlawful searching. It is a type of household turtle Testudinidae which is endemic to the archipelago that belongs to Ecuador.
Males are often bigger than females and measure as much as roughly 1.8 meters lengthy, with an approximate weight of 260 kilograms, in response to the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Human exercise has led to the turtles of the west of Santa Cruz to the sting of extinction.
Historically, the sailors decreased the variety of turtles searching them for his or her meat. On the opposite hand, the inhabitants have altered their habitat and launched invasive species comparable to goats, which compete with turtles for meals.
https://elpais.com/ciencia/2025-04-07/una-tortuga-de-100-anos-se-convierte-en-madre-por-primera-vez-y-da-esperanza-a-su-especie-en-peligro-de-extincion.html