The turtle “Mr. Pickles» becomes the father of three baby turtles for the first time. At 90 – Corriere.it

At the Houston Zoo, three baby ray tortoises hatched (Astrochelys radiata), a tortoise living in southern Madagascar listed on the IUCN Red List and considered critically endangered due to predation for being sold on the black market as a house pet. The peculiarity is that the three little ones were born from a 90-year-old father: Mr. Pickles (Mr. Pickles). Also a father for the first time (at least since he’s been at the zoo). The three newborns were named Dill (dill), Gherkin (gherkin) and Jalapeño (a Mexican hot pepper). The ray tortoise is an animal that feeds exclusively on plants.

Mr. Pickles

Mr. Pickles is the oldest animal in the reptile house and the curators are particularly pleased that he was able to fertilize the eggs, as the average age of this species is around one hundred years, although one specimen is reported lived to be 188 years old. Arrived at the Texan Zoo in 1987, Mr. Pickles is part of a captive breeding program for the species, to conserve it if it were to disappear in the wild. The mother of the three babies, Mrs. Pickles, has been at the Houston Zoo since 1996. The three newborns will currently be kept apart for safety reasons and will only be joined with their parents when they have reached a size that guarantees their safety.