A couple in Philadelphia have become parents at nearly the age of 100. The mother, named Mommy, and father, Abrazzo, recently welcomed four new babies. The couple is actually a pair of endangered Galapagos tortoises who live at the Philadelphia Zoo and are extremely popular with the visitors.

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Four of the couple's eggs hatched, making Mommy the oldest first-time mother of her species, the zoo said on Thursday. The Western Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoises are a critically endangered species and efforts are being made to save it.

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan has been working to preserve these tortoises and also ensure genetic diversity. The creatures have been suffering because of habitat loss, invasive species and human- wildlife conflict.

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Mommy came to the Philadelphia Zoo in 1932, while her partner Abrazzo was brought in 2020. Three other zoos in America also have breeding pairs - San Diego Zoo, Miami Zoo and Honolulu Zoo.

Mommy laid 16 eggs in November

The eggs started hatching on Feb 27 and will be presented to the public on April 23, the 93rd anniversary of Mommy's arrival at the zoo, which opened in 1874, authorities said. The hatchlings weigh 70-80 grams and are eating and growing properly.

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Mommy laid 16 eggs in November, and the zoo's reptile and amphibian team dug them up and incubated them at different temperatures. Four eggs were nurtured to produce male tortoises and four for female tortoises. Notably, temperatures below 82.4 degrees result in males; above 85.1 degrees produce females.

Before the current eggs, four other clutches from Mommy were incubated but did not yield any viable eggs. However, this time, all four female eggs hatched.

Mommy came to the Philadelphia Zoo on April 23, 1932, and was believed to be about four years old. She is approximately 97 years old and weighs 284 pounds and hatched in the wild in the Galapagos Islands. Meanwhile, Abrazzo is estimated to be 96.