The Houston Zoo announced this week that a 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles became a father for the first time. His species is critically endangered, so they joked that it’s a really “big DILL.” His wife Mrs. Pickles is 53, so it’s a real May-December romance. They welcomed three hatchlings named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño.
Mr. Pickles, a 90-year-old radiated tortoise, recently became a father to three hatchlings in the Houston Zoo.
The radiated tortoise is a critically endangered species, and the births are significant because they required captive breeding.
Radiated tortoises produce few offspring, making Mr. Pickles, who is considered the most genetically valuable of his species, a particularly important individual for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.
The hatchlings, named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño, were discovered by zookeepers after Mrs. Pickles laid her eggs, and they are now living in the Reptile & Amphibian House with their parents.
