Gamma arrived at the San Diego Zoo between 1928-1931 died November 20. She was estimated to be about 141 years old.
Gamma, a Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis sp.) who arrived at the San Diego Zoo between 1928-1931 died November 20. She was estimated to be about 141 years old. She was one of the first group of tortoises to come to the zoo from the Galapagos Islands where she was born.
According to an Instagram post on the zoo’s IG page, Gamma was a shy tortoise who observed the creation and evolution of the zoo, lived through more than 20 U.S. presidencies, two World Wars and two pandemics. She lived for nearly 100 years at the San Diego Zoo and met and worked with hundreds of thousands of zoo team members, guests, volunteers and conservationists, the zoo wrote. Known as the “Queen of the Zoo” by her care specialists, she has been photographed during the early days of photography as well as in the current social media climate that permeated the world today.
She was a fan of romaine lettuce and cactus fruit, and in her honor, the zoo encourages youth enjoy a fruit filled salad of your own to celebrate her long and storied life.
Galapagos Tortoise Information
The Galapagos tortoise is considered threatened by the IUCN. It is the largest tortoise species on earth, with an estimated 20,000 to 25,000 giant tortoise species left in the wild, including all 11 subspecies. They can live well over 100 years and can weigh upward of 900 lbs, reaching sexual maturity at 20 to 30 years. REPTILES magazine covered the discovery of a living subspecies, Chelonoidis niger phantasticus in February 2021. You can read that article here.
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