An endangered radiated turtle, named Mr&nbsp;Pickles, at the age of 90, and his partner, Mrs&nbsp;Pickles, have welcomed three new offsprings named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño at the Houston zoo in United States.

The staff were earlier astonished on finding the eggs.&nbsp;Around the zoo's closing time, Mrs&nbsp;Pickles was discovered by a herpetology keeper. The reptile and amphibian house's animal care crew swiftly located the eggs and transported them there for protection, reported ABC7 Chicago.&nbsp;

Given that the natives of Madagascar cannot thrive in Houston's soil and that it is unlikely the eggs would have hatched had the keeper not been present, it is thought to be unusual.

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At 90 years young, Mr. Pickles is the oldest animal at the Zoo and the newest father of 3 radiated tortoises. It's a big dill for radiated tortoise genetics as their father is the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise in the <a href="https://twitter.com/zoos_aquariums?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@zoos_aquariums</a> Species Survival Plan®. (1/2) <a href="https://t.co/Su1R3XK43N">pic.twitter.com/Su1R3XK43N</a>
— Houston Zoo (@houstonzoo) <a href="https://twitter.com/houstonzoo/status/1636374644344393730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Both Mr&nbsp;Pickles and the three newest Pickles are considered to be among the most genetically valuable tortoises in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-discover-parasitic-fungus-which-preys-on-spiders-in-brazil-573155">Scientists discover parasitic fungus which preys on spiders in Brazil</a>

The over-collection of radiated tortoises for the illegal pet trade has put them in grave danger, and they are known to have a low birth rate.&nbsp;

Together with Mrs&nbsp;Pickles, who moved there in 1996, Mr&nbsp;Pickes has lived at the Houston Zoo for 36 years.&nbsp;A baby was welcomed into the Pickles' family in 1997.&nbsp;

Up until they are big enough to securely reunite with their parents, the new additions will remain in the Reptile and Amphibian House.

Each Houston Zoo membership and entry fee will contribute a portion to assisting the Zoo's Madagascar partners reestablish wildlife areas in order to conserve animals in the wild. 
 
(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

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An endangered radiated turtle, named Mr Pickles, at the age of 90, and his partner, Mrs Pickles, have welcomed three new offsprings named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño at the Houston zoo in United States.

An endangered radiated turtle, named Mr Pickles, at the age of 90, and his partner, Mrs Pickles, have welcomed three new offsprings named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeño at the Houston zoo in United States. The staff were earlier astonished on finding the eggs. Around the zoo's closing time, Mrs Pickles was discovered by a herpetology keeper. The reptile and amphibian house's animal care crew swiftly located the eggs and transported them there for protection, reported ABC7 Chicago. Given that the natives of Madagascar cannot thrive in Houston's soil and that it is unlikely the eggs would have hatched had the keeper not been present, it is thought to be unusual. At 90 years young, Mr. Pickles is the oldest animal at the Zoo and the newest father of 3 radiated tortoises. It's a big dill for radiated tortoise genetics as their father is the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise in the @zoos_aquariums Species Survival Plan®. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Su1R3XK43N — Houston Zoo (@houstonzoo) March 16, 2023 × Both Mr Pickles and the three newest Pickles are considered to be among the most genetically valuable tortoises in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. ALSO READ | Scientists discover parasitic fungus which preys on spiders in Brazil The over-collection of radiated tortoises for the illegal pet trade has put them in grave danger, and they are known to have a low birth rate. Together with Mrs Pickles, who moved there in 1996, Mr Pickes has lived at the Houston Zoo for 36 years. A baby was welcomed into the Pickles' family in 1997. Up until they are big enough to securely reunite with their parents, the new additions will remain in the Reptile and Amphibian House. Each Houston Zoo membership and entry fee will contribute a portion to assisting the Zoo's Madagascar partners reestablish wildlife areas in order to conserve animals in the wild. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

WATCH | 90-year-old endangered radiated tortoise becomes father of three after 1997

A 100-year-old tortoise called Diego is responsible for the fertilization of 800 offspring and for contributing substantially to the salvation of one of the species of giant tortoise in the Galapagos Islands.

Species-saving Diego returning to original habitat

After shooting dead a&nbsp;gorilla&nbsp;at the&nbsp;Cincinnati&nbsp;Zoo to save a 3-year-old boy, zoo officials said they had collected a sample of his sperm, raising hopes among distraught fans that Harambe could sire offspring even in death.

Officials at the main U.S. body that oversees breeding of zoo animals, however, said it was highly unlikely&nbsp;that the Western lowland&nbsp;gorilla&#39;s contribution to the nation&#39;s &quot;frozen zoo&quot; of&nbsp;genetic material of rare and endangered species would be used to breed.

&quot;Currently, it&#39;s not anything we would use for reproduction,&quot; Kristen Lukas, who heads the Association of Zoos and Aquariums&#39; (AZA) Gorilla&nbsp;Species Survival Plan, said on Wednesday. &quot;It will be banked and just stored for future use or for research studies.&quot;

Lukas&#39; statement undercuts a weekend statement by&nbsp;Cincinnati&nbsp;Zoo director Thane Maynard that the death of the 17-year-old young silverback, who had been too young to breed, was &quot;not the end of his gene pool.&quot;

Zoo officials did not respond to calls on Wednesday seeking more detail on their plans for Harambe&#39;s sperm.

There are currently 350&nbsp;gorillas of Harambe&#39;s species in US&nbsp;zoos, according to the AZA, which accredits zoos, including&nbsp;Cincinnati&#39;s and approves breeding plans. That population is large enough to maintain a breeding program so robust that many female gorillas&nbsp;of child-bearing age are given hormonal contraceptives.

Zoo officials have stood by the decision to shoot Harambe dead on Saturday, saying the 450-pound (200-kg) animal could have easily&nbsp;slain&nbsp;or grievously injured the toddler.

But their decision to kill the&nbsp;gorilla&nbsp;has drawn criticism online and sparked a&nbsp;Cincinnati&nbsp;police investigation into the boy&#39;s family.

The highly charismatic animals are closely related to humans, making them popular zoo attractions. Major US&nbsp;zoos from New York&#39;s Bronx Zoo to the San Diego Zoo rely on&nbsp;gorillas as a major draw for visitors.

&nbsp;

INTO THE &#39;FROZEN ZOO&#39;

Harambe&#39;s sperm will&nbsp;likely&nbsp;go into a collection of samples taken from&nbsp;gorillas and other animals that are preserved in liquid nitrogen and typically viable for hundreds of years, said the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians director Robert Hilsenroth.

&quot;We call it the frozen zoo,&quot; said Hilsenroth. &quot;It&#39;s nice to have that in your pocket just in case.&quot;

Given the numbers of&nbsp;gorillas in captivity, Harambe&#39;s&nbsp;genetic&nbsp;material would&nbsp;likely&nbsp;be drawn on only in the event of some new disease that took a heavy toll on the population, the AZA&#39;s Lukas said.

&quot;In a dire situation like that, we would then be able to continue the population,&quot; Lukas said.

There are about 175,000 of the&nbsp;gorillas in the wild, but habitat destruction, hunting and disease are resulting in a rapid decline in the population.

The practice of breeding&nbsp;gorillas in captivity has been criticized by animal rights groups.

&quot;In theory, conserving is great but without a habitat what&#39;s the point,&quot; said Julia Gallucci, primatologist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

After shooting dead a?gorilla?at the?Cincinnati?Zoo to save a 3-year-old boy, zoo officials said they had collected a sample of his sperm for future use

After shooting dead a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo to save a 3-year-old boy, zoo officials said they had collected a sample of his sperm, raising hopes among distraught fans that Harambe could sire offspring even in death. Officials at the main U.S. body that oversees breeding of zoo animals, however, said it was highly unlikely that the Western lowland gorilla's contribution to the nation's "frozen zoo" of genetic material of rare and endangered species would be used to breed. "Currently, it's not anything we would use for reproduction," Kristen Lukas, who heads the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Gorilla Species Survival Plan, said on Wednesday. "It will be banked and just stored for future use or for research studies." Lukas' statement undercuts a weekend statement by Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard that the death of the 17-year-old young silverback, who had been too young to breed, was "not the end of his gene pool." Zoo officials did not respond to calls on Wednesday seeking more detail on their plans for Harambe's sperm. There are currently 350 gorillas of Harambe's species in US zoos, according to the AZA, which accredits zoos, including Cincinnati's and approves breeding plans. That population is large enough to maintain a breeding program so robust that many female gorillas of child-bearing age are given hormonal contraceptives. Zoo officials have stood by the decision to shoot Harambe dead on Saturday, saying the 450-pound (200-kg) animal could have easily slain or grievously injured the toddler. But their decision to kill the gorilla has drawn criticism online and sparked a Cincinnati police investigation into the boy's family. The highly charismatic animals are closely related to humans, making them popular zoo attractions. Major US zoos from New York's Bronx Zoo to the San Diego Zoo rely on gorillas as a major draw for visitors. INTO THE 'FROZEN ZOO' Harambe's sperm will likely go into a collection of samples taken from gorillas and other animals that are preserved in liquid nitrogen and typically viable for hundreds of years, said the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians director Robert Hilsenroth. "We call it the frozen zoo," said Hilsenroth. "It's nice to have that in your pocket just in case." Given the numbers of gorillas in captivity, Harambe's genetic material would likely be drawn on only in the event of some new disease that took a heavy toll on the population, the AZA's Lukas said. "In a dire situation like that, we would then be able to continue the population," Lukas said. There are about 175,000 of the gorillas in the wild, but habitat destruction, hunting and disease are resulting in a rapid decline in the population. The practice of breeding gorillas in captivity has been criticized by animal rights groups. "In theory, conserving is great but without a habitat what's the point," said Julia Gallucci, primatologist for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Slain Cincinnati gorilla likely to live on in genetic 'frozen zoo'

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