Tortoise becomes a father at 90 years old
Radiated tortoises are native to Madagascar.
Mr Pickles, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise, has become a father for the first time, Houston Zoo has announced.
Earlier this month, the zoo welcomed three tortoise hatchlings, the offspring of Mr Pickles and his partner Mrs Pickles.
In keeping with the names of their parents, the three hatchlings have been named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño.
Mr Pickles has lived at Houston Zoo for 36 years and has been partnered with Mrs Pickles since 1996. The mother of the hatchlings is a sprightly 53.
This is the first time the pair have reproduced.
If it wasn’t for the sharp eye of the herpetology keeper who spotted Mrs Pickles laying the eggs, it is unlikely that the hatchlings would have survived. The soil at the zoo isn’t suited to burrowed eggs, meaning the keepers had to intervene.
The eggs were moved into the Reptile and Amphibian House and monitored for more than five months.
Jon Rold, supervisor of herpetology and entomology at Houston Zoo, told the New York Times: “If you don’t see the female actually digging a hole and laying the eggs, it can very easily be missed. And if it is missed and the eggs don’t get in the proper setup soon enough, they just won’t develop.”
The hatchlings are currently staying in the Reptile and Amphibian House until they have grown big enough to safely join their parents.
Radiated tortoises are native to Madagascar and can live for a very long time, with the oldest recorded one living to an estimated age of 188. They are critically endangered, owing to a combination of habitat loss, poaching, and the black market pet trade.
It is not currently known for certain just how old radiated tortoises can be and still reproduce.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
