Overview

• The zoo showcased the hatchlings on Wednesday, with keepers reporting the group is eating well and growing.
• Parents Mommy and Abrazzo are each estimated to be about 100 years old; Mommy arrived in 1932 and produced her first offspring after Abrazzo’s transfer nearly five years ago.
• Sixteen young hatched in multiple clutches this year, including four females in early spring, three males in April, three females in June and six males later in the summer.
• The hatchlings will remain at the Philadelphia Zoo for at least a year before placement in different facilities starting next fall.
• Western Santa Cruz tortoises are critically endangered and can live up to about 200 years, and the zoo is inviting donors to propose a name for one male as staff use nontoxic nail polish to distinguish individuals.