Galapagos tortoise celebrates his 135th birthday and his first Father’s Day at Zoo Miami

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MIAMI — A South Florida zoo’s oldest resident celebrated his 135th birthday and his first Father’s Day on Sunday.

Goliath, a 517-pound (234-kilogram) Galapagos tortoise at Zoo Miami, became a father for the first time earlier this month, zoo officials said.

“Goliath is my hero, and I am sure he will soon be an inspiration to many others!” Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said in a statement. “He is living proof that where there is a will, there is a way and to never give up!”

One egg out of a clutch of eight laid on Jan. 27 successfully hatched on June 4, officials said. Besides being Goliath’s first offspring, it’s also the first time one of the endangered reptiles has hatched at Zoo Miami. The animals’ numbers were drastically reduced before the 20th century by human exploitation and the introduction of invasive species to the Galapagos Islands. Modern threats include climate change and habitat loss.

According to Goliath’s official record, he hatched on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on June 15, between 1885 and 1890. The island group is located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, several hundred miles west of mainland Ecuador.

Goliath arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1929 and moved to Zoo Miami in 1981. He has bred with several different females during his time at Zoo Miami, but he has never sired an offspring. The new hatchling’s mother, Sweet Pea, is estimated to be between 85 and 100 years old.

Both parents are doing well in their public habitat, officials said. The hatchling appears to be healthy in a separate enclosure. Wild hatchlings are not raised by their parents.