"We have five hatchlings that have moved out of the incubator," said Katie Porth, senior herpetology caretaker at the Oklahoma City Zoo, in a news release. "There are eleven extant species of Galápagos tortoises, and we’re the only AZA-accredited zoo in the U.S. with a breeding group of Volcán Alcedo giant tortoises."
Volcán Alcedo giant tortoises are native to the Alcedo Volcano region on Isabela Island, the largest of the Galápagos Islands.
The Oklahoma City Zoo houses four adult Volcán Alcedo giant tortoises, aged between 80 and 120 years.
"Welcoming these hatchlings is monumental, especially considering Max, who is 80 years old, is a 'late bloomer,'" Porth explained. "Max showed interest in the females but didn’t really know what he was doing. We were getting perfectly good unfertilized eggs from the females every year, but none were fertilized."
