A Tortoise Became a First-Time Mom at Nearly 100

Mommy has lived at the Philadelphia Zoo since 1932, long enough that the zoo's president, Jo-Elle Mogerman, said anyone who has visited in the last 92 years has likely seen her. Then the critically endangered Galapagos tortoise did something nobody at the zoo had seen in its more than 150 years: she became a mother, at an age caretakers estimate at about 97.

A Tortoise Who Came in 1932

Mommy hatched in the wild in the Galapagos Islands. Milton W. Holden brought her to Pennsylvania on April 23, 1932, when she weighed 40 pounds. She now weighs about 285 pounds.

Her age is an estimate. Caretakers put it at about 97, while the zoo and many news reports say nearly 100. She is a Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoise, one of the most genetically valuable of her kind in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums breeding program for the species.

Her mate, Abrazzo, arrived from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in South Carolina in 2020 and is also estimated to be close to a century old. The zoo introduced the two in 2022, and they did not get along right away.

Three Clutches That Never Hatched

From 2023, Mommy laid three clutches of eggs, and none of them hatched. In November 2024 she laid a fourth, a clutch of 16 eggs.

Staff incubated the eggs at different temperatures, because heat decides whether a tortoise hatches male or female. The first egg hatched on February 27, 2025. All four of the first hatchlings were female, and each weighed a little under three ounces.

The zoo called it the first successful hatching of the species in its history of more than 150 years, and said Mommy is the oldest known first-time mother of her species. That is the zoo's own claim, not an official world record.

Sixteen Babies in All

More hatchlings followed. According to the zoo, three males hatched from the same November clutch in April, making seven. A second clutch added nine more, three females and six males, between May and July. By August 2025 the zoo counted 16 babies.

The numbers matter. Before these clutches, only 44 Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises lived in US zoos, and the family raised that total by about a third. Ashley Ortega, who coordinates the captive breeding program, said the new hatchlings represent "a new genetic lineage and some much-needed help to the species' population."

Named by 13,000 Votes

The four hatchlings made their public debut on April 23, 2025, the anniversary of Mommy's arrival at the zoo, in the Reptile and Amphibian House.

More than 13,000 people voted on their names. The Golden Girls theme beat three other categories - female herpetologists, Philadelphia-themed names and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air characters - so the four girls are Dorothy, Rose, Blanche and Sophia.

Still There

In April 2026 the zoo held an anniversary weekend for Mommy at the Reptile and Amphibian House, with wildlife chats, an anniversary "cake" for the giant tortoises and a measurement checkup for the hatchlings.

Mommy is still at the Philadelphia Zoo.