Overview

• Goliath was born on Santa Cruz Island between 1885 and 1890, arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1929 and moved to Zoo Miami in 1981.
• Sweet Pea laid eight eggs on January 27 and after 128 days of incubation one successfully hatched on June 4, marking the zoo’s first Galapagos tortoise hatchling.
• Zoo officials said both parents are healthy in their public habitat and showed Goliath meeting the hatchling on June 12 before it was relocated to a dedicated enclosure.
• Zoo Miami has filed an application with Guinness World Records to recognize Goliath as the oldest first-time tortoise father in history.
• The new hatchling bolsters Zoo Miami’s breeding program for the endangered Galapagos tortoise, which faces threats from habitat loss and climate change.