This 90-year-old tortoise named Mr. Pickles just became a first-time father (VIDEO)
A 90-year-old tortoise, Mr. Pickles, and his long-time companion, Mrs. Pickles, are welcoming three newborns into the world: Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño!
These three little miracles were born in the Houston Zoo, where their parents reside.
The Zoo explains that the triplets are no ordinary animals since their father is “the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise in the Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) Species Survival Plan® (SSP).”
Mr. Pickles is even the oldest animal at the Houston Zoo.
So you could say Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño, are a pretty big deal dill.
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“The new hatchlings came as a surprise when a herpetology keeper happened upon Mrs. Pickles as the tortoise was laying her eggs at closing time,” a release reads.
“The animal care team quickly went to work uncovering the eggs and getting them to the safety of the Reptile & Amphibian House. The soil in Houston isn’t hospitable to the Madagascar native tortoises, and it’s unlikely the eggs would have hatched on their own if the keeper hadn’t been in the right place at the right time.”
Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño and will remain in the Reptile & Amphibian House care until they are big enough to safely join their parents.
“Radiated tortoises are critically endangered from over-collection for the illegal pet trade and are known to produce few offspring.”
Mr. Pickles met Mrs. Pickles when she arrived in the zoo in 1996.
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