Overview
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance reported that Gramma died on Nov. 20 after a veterinary end-of-life decision.
- Keepers and visitors remembered the longtime resident as the zoo’s “Queen,” with tributes shared widely on social media.
- The zoo estimated her age at about 140–141 years, making her among the oldest known Galápagos tortoises in human care.
- Born in the Galápagos and routed through the Bronx Zoo, she reached San Diego between 1928 and 1931 with the zoo’s first Galápagos cohort.
- Reports placed her death in the broader context of the species’ longevity and conservation, citing cases like Harriet and decades of captive-breeding releases to the wild.