He lived through two world wars, 20 US presidents, the moon landing and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
After more than a century of eating his favorite foods — romaine lettuce and cactus fruit — Gramma’s beloved Galápagos tortoise, the San Diego Zoo’s oldest resident, died on November 20 at the age of approximately 141. It is also believed to be the oldest captive turtle of its kind. Currently in the wild Jonathan on the island of St. Helena set an impressive age record at 192 years.
Grandma came to San Diego between 1928 and 1931.
The “Queen of the Zoo” was euthanized
Gramma was born in her original home. According to zoo information, he came to San Diego from the Bronx Zoo in New York between 1928 and 1931 as part of the first group of Galápagos tortoises. Her keepers lovingly nicknamed her “queen of the zoo.” Gramma has recently been suffering from age-related problems Bone diseasewhich worsened over the last few months before he was euthanized.
Galapagos giant tortoises can live more than 100 years in the wild and nearly double their lifespan in captivity. The oldest known Galápagos tortoise was Harriet, who lived at the Australia Zoo in the Australian state of Queensland, and lived to be 175 years old.
Turtle Man Goliath became a father for the first time at the age of 135
Endangered
The Galápagos tortoise includes 15 subspecies, three of which are considered extinct. The remainder are classified as endangered or critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Intensive captive breeding programs have been carried out in recent decades. Since 1965, more than 10,000 young animals have been released back into the wild, according to the Galapagos Conservancy. Several subspecies were saved from extinction in this way.
In April, Philadelphia Zoo Four young Galápagos tortoises were born – to parents who are around 100 years old and have become parents for the first time, a first in the zoo’s history. In June, a 135-year-old male Galápagos tortoise was born at Zoo Miami Goliath father for the first time.
