This tiny turtle and his eight equally cute siblings have a long life ahead of them, but even the most epic journeys must begin with a single modest stride.
Until fact, if all goes well for these little living relics, they may still be around in 2216.
Nigrita, a Galapagos tortoise, welcomed the nine small hatchlings into the world this week at the Zurich Zoo in Switzerland, which is home to a breeding program aimed at saving these rare species from extinction.
Nigrita, at the age of 80, is easily one of the world’s oldest new moms. She had the shelled kids with her muscular young partner, Jumbo. He’s 54 years old.
The infants are pocket-sized and weigh between 4 and 5 ounces, although this is far from their ultimate shape. Nigrita, on the other hand, weighs 220 pounds.
Female and male Galapagos tortoises may reach up to 400 and 700 pounds, respectively, indicating that mom is still expanding.
What makes these famous animals so extraordinary is that they are among the longest-living mammals on the world.
Galapagos tortoises are thought to live to be about 200 years old, which means that these small hatchlings may survive to see a future that no one alive now will be able to witness.
But at the very least, we got to see their newborn photographs!
