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On this Father’s Day, June 15th, Zoo Miami’s oldest animal will be celebrating his 135th birthday! His name is “Goliath,” and he is a Galapagos tortoise that weighs 517 pounds! Up until this prior week, he had not fathered any offspring. That changed when after 128 days of incubation, one egg out of a clutch of 8 that was laid January 27th, successfully hatched on June 4th! Not only is this the first offspring for Goliath, but it is also the first time in the history of Zoo Miami that a Galapagos tortoise has hatched, making this an historic event on multiple levels!
Goliath’s official record has him hatching out on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on June 15th, 1890. He arrived at the Bronx Zoo on July 23rd, 1929, and finally came to Zoo Miami on July 30th, 1981. During his time at Zoo Miami, he had bred with several different females but had never successfully sired an offspring.
The mother is “Sweet Pea,” and she arrived at the Crandon Park Zoo on Key Biscayne, Florida as an adult in 1960, indicating that she is between 85-100 years old.
An application has been made to the Guinness Book of World Records to officially recognize Goliath as “The Oldest First-Time Father in History!” Considering the age of Sweet Pea, their combined age is over 200 and they may also qualify as “The Oldest First-Time Parents in History!”
Both Goliath and Sweet Pea are doing well on their public habitat and are not aware of their newly hatched offspring. In the wild, hatchlings are on their own from the moment they emerge from the egg and the parents have no further connection to them. The hatchling appears to be healthy and has been removed from the incubator and placed in a separate enclosure where it is active and full of energy!
This Father’s Day will be extra special at Zoo Miami as we not only celebrate Goliath’s birthday, but we will also be celebrating how the stars have finally aligned to make him a father for the first time in his amazing 135-year life! He is an inspiration to never give up hope!
