Nearly 100-Year-Old Tortoise Becomes First-Time Mom to 16 Babies

Nearly a century passed before a tortoise named Mommy became her namesake. When it finally happened, the Galápagos tortoise did not stop at one baby.

Mommy, a Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoise at the Philadelphia Zoo, produced her first surviving hatchlings in 2025. According to the Philadelphia Zoo, she and fellow tortoise Abrazzo—also nearly 100 years old—ultimately welcomed 16 babies.

Their birth marked the first successful hatching of this particular, troubled species in the zoo’s more than 150-year history. The Philadelphia Zoo also identified Mommy as the oldest known first-time mother of her species at a U.S. zoo.

The hatchlings arrived last year, but the story is getting renewed attention as conservation groups reflect on just what it took to make this happen—and what their arrival could mean for the species’s future.

Indeed, a new Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) feature is offering a closer look at the years of work behind the unusual family.

Years of Work Led to 16 Hatchlings

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Mommy’s story at the Philadelphia Zoo began in 1932. Abrazzo made his journey from Riverbanks Zoo and Garden and joined Mommy in 2020, according to the AZA, after the pair were selected as a valuable breeding match.

With the arrival of offspring suddenly a thrilling possibility, zoo teams spent years preparing for the little ones. They set to adjusting habitats, establishing new nesting areas, and studying successful breeding practices used elsewhere.

Several large groups of eggs preceded Mommy’s first successful clutch. Seven hatchlings emerged from eggs laid in November 2024, with another nine eventually bringing the total to 16, according to the Philadelphia Zoo.

The group includes nine males and seven females. The zoo has said the young tortoises have continued eating, growing and developing normally.

Mommy’s Babies Bring New Genetics

These hatchlings being born to tortoises of such an advanced age is stunning on its own. However, the true wonder is in what those hatchlings represent: a future.

Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoises are critically endangered, and the AZA manages a breeding population intended to help preserve genetic diversity.

Mommy was especially valuable because her genetic line had not previously been represented in that managed population. The AZA says Mommy’s offspring with Abrazzo add important new genetics to the group.

After the 16 babies arrived, the Philadelphia Zoo reported that the managed population included 60 Western Santa Cruz Galápagos tortoises. For a tortoise that waited close to 100 years to become a mother, Mommy ended up making quite a dramatic—and meaningful—entrance into parenthood.