MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida zoo’s oldest resident celebrated his one hundred and thirty fifth birthday and his first Father’s Day on Sunday.
Goliath, a 517-pound (234-kilogram) Galapagos tortoise at Zoo Miami, turned a father for the primary time earlier this month, zoo officers mentioned.
“Goliath is my hero, and I am sure he will soon be an inspiration to many others!” Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill mentioned in an announcement. “He is living proof that where there is a will, there is a way and to never give up!”
One egg out of a clutch of eight laid on Jan. 27 efficiently hatched on June 4, officers mentioned. In addition to being Goliath’s first offspring, it’s additionally the primary time one of many endangered reptiles has hatched at Zoo Miami. The animals’ numbers had been drastically lowered earlier than the twentieth century by human exploitation and the introduction of invasive species to the Galapagos Islands. Trendy threats embody local weather change and habitat loss.
Based on Goliath’s official file, he hatched on the island of Santa Cruz within the Galapagos on June 15, between 1885 and 1890. The island group is positioned close to the equator within the Pacific Ocean, a number of hundred miles west of mainland Ecuador.
Goliath arrived on the Bronx Zoo in 1929 and moved to Zoo Miami in 1981. He has bred with a number of totally different females throughout his time at Zoo Miami, however he has by no means sired an offspring. The brand new hatchling’s mom, Candy Pea, is estimated to be between 85 and 100 years previous.
Each dad and mom are doing properly of their public habitat, officers mentioned. The hatchling seems to be wholesome in a separate enclosure. Wild hatchlings aren’t raised by their dad and mom.
