According to Zoo Miami, Goliath hatched on The Galapagos Islands’ Santa Cruz Island June 15, 1890. He was then brought to the Bronx Zoo July 23, 1929, where he lived until July 30, 1981.
Goliath, a Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis sp.) who lives at Zoo Miami in Florida recently celebrated his 135th birthday AND celebrated Father’s Day for the first time as an egg that hatched January 27 is the first offspring the tortoise has ever had. In addition, Zoo Miami announced that the hatchling is the first time a Galapagos tortoise has ever hatched at the zoo.
According to Zoo Miami, Goliath hatched on The Galapagos Islands’ Santa Cruz Island June 15, 1890. He was then brought to the Bronx Zoo July 23, 1929, where he lived until July 30, 1981. H was then sent to Zoo Miami. During the course of his life, he was unsuccessfully bred to other females but was not successful until now. The hatchling is one of eight in the clutch. It hatched after 128 days of incubation.
Goliath’s mate is Sweet Pea, who is a resident of the Crandon Park Zoo inn Key Biscayne, FL and came to the zoo in 1960. She is between 85 and 100 years old.
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“Both Goliath and Sweet Pea are doing well on their public habitat and are not aware of their newly hatched offspring, the zoo wrote in a press release on its website. “In the wild, hatchlings are on their own from the moment they emerge from the egg and the parents have no further connection to them. The hatchling appears to be healthy and has been removed from the incubator and placed in a separate enclosure where it is active and full of energy!“
Western Santa Cruz Island Galapagos Tortoise Information
The Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoise is a subspecies of the Galapagos tortoise and is only found on the southwestern slopes of the Santa Cruz island in the Galapagos island chain. The critically endangered species has a life expectancy of about 175 years and is known for its domed, black, oval carapace. It is estimated that there are 3,400 individuals in the wild on Santa Cruz Island.
