Gramma the Galápagos tortoise, oldest resident of San Diego Zoo, dies at about 141
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gramma, the beloved Galápagos tortoise and the San Diego Zoo’s oldest resident, has died after eating lettuce and cactus fruit, his favorite foods for more than a century.
Zoo officials said the grandmother was born in her natural habitat and is estimated to be about 141 years old. He died on November 20.
It’s unclear exactly when the tortoise arrived at the San Diego Zoo, but zoo officials said he arrived from the Bronx Zoo in 1928 or 1931 as part of the first group of Galápagos tortoises.
She captivated visitors with her sweet, shy personality as the world changed around her. He lived through two World Wars and 20 US presidents.
Her groomers affectionately called her the “Queen of the Zoo.” The zoo said he had recently been suffering from bone conditions related to his advancing age before he was euthanized.
Many visitors commented on social media that they first visited the grandmother when they were little, and that they were able to come back with their children years later.
Cristina Park, 69, said one of her earliest memories from her childhood was going to the San Diego Zoo and riding on the back of a turtle when she was 3 or 4 years old. This is no longer allowed, but the experience inspired him to keep a small desert tortoise as a pet and learn more about tortoise conservation.
“It’s amazing how they managed to overcome so much,” Park said. “And yet they are still there.”
Galapagos tortoises can live more than 100 years in the wild and nearly twice that amount of time in captivity.
The oldest known Galapagos tortoise was named Harriet, who lived at the Australia Zoo until she was 175 years old. According to the zoo, it was collected from the Galapagos Islands in 1835 when it was the size of a dinner plate. This means it hatched around 1830 and died in 2006.
Galápagos tortoises include 15 subspecies of tortoise that live on the islands; three of these are considered extinct. All the rest are vulnerable or critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
According to the Galápagos Conservancy, intense efforts have been made to breed these turtles in captivity over the past few decades, and more than 10,000 hatchlings have been released into the wild since 1965. Some subspecies have been brought back from the brink of extinction.
Four baby Galapagos tortoises in April Born at the Philadelphia Zoo to first-time parents around age 100, A first in the history of the zoo. In June, Miami Zoo resident and Galapagos tortoise Goliath I became a father for the first time 135 years old.
