PHILADELPHIA — What’s a frisky 95-year-old Galapagos Islands tortoise to do for love?
Zookeepers at the Philadelphia Zoo turned to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, who will be matching “Mommy” with a 98-year-old mate, WPVI reported.
“It’s sort of like Match.com, or breeding for animal genetic diversity,” Donna Evernham, curator of ungulates and carnivores, told WPVI.
Mommy came to the zoo in 1932. The giant tortoises are a highly threatened species only found in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. They are famously connected to the work of Charles Darwin. They can live to be more than 100 years old.
The zoo hopes the couple will produce a healthy clutch.
“Nothing really comes out of the wild from the Galapagos anymore,” Sean Martin, a zookeeper that works with turtles, told WPVI. “That’s why the SSP program is so important. Because you don’t want them to disappear forever.”
Affectionately named, "Mommy," the Galapagos Turtle has been living in Philadelphia since 1932. However, she is underrepresented in the gene pool of her species' living members.
— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) November 17, 2020
That's why the Zoo has invited a 98-year-old counterpart to breed with Mommy. https://t.co/mWyl940mYg
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