Gramma, Galápagos tortoise, dies aged 141
The oldest resident at San Diego Zoo, Gramma, a Galápagos tortoise, has died at the age of 141. The reptile was born in her native habitat and has been estimated to have lived for almost a century and a half, according to zoo officials, before dying on 20th November.
It is not known for certain when Gramma arrived at the San Diego Zoo, but officials at the attraction believe she came from the Bronx Zoo either in1928 or 1931, as part of their first group of Galápagos tortoises. In her lifetime, she has lived through both world wars and twenty presidents of the US. Workers at the zoo have dubbed her the Queen of the Zoo.
She had been suffering from bone conditions related to her old age which had recently progressed, before she was euthanised. Visitors commented on social media about seeing her when they were children, and returning many years later with their children.
In the wild, Galápagos tortoises like Gramma are known to live for over a century, and can reach far more than that in captivity. Harriet, the oldest known Galápagos tortoise, lived at the Australia Zoo, dying at the age of 175. She was collected from the Galapagos islands in 1835, being no bigger than a dinner plate. This suggests that she hatched around 1830, dying in 2006.
Galápagos tortoises make up 15 subspecies from the islands, three of which are extinct. All of the others are either vulnerable or critically endangered, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says. Work has been well underway to breed them in captivity for decades and over 10,000 juveniles have been released into the wild since 1965.
In April, four baby Galápagos tortoises were born at the Philadelphia Zoo to parents who were around 100 years old and first-time parents. Another, in Miami, became a father for the first time at 135 years old.
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