Goliath is, not very surprising, the oldest animal in the Zoo of Miami. Yet he only became a father for the first time on 4 June, when his first young from an eight eggs was born. Goliath himself crawled out of his egg much longer ago: according to official data, this happened on 15 June 1890 on the island of Santa Cruz, which is part of the Galapagos Islands. Around his 39th birthday, in 1929, Goliath was transferred to the Bronx Zoo, in New York. At the age of 91, he moved to sunny Miami, like more seniors in the United States.
Paying descendants always turned out to be a difficult matter for Goliath. Despite earlier attempts in several females, the turtle remained childless for a long time. Until in January of this year he succeeded in fertilizing Sweet Pea, a green leaf that is estimated between 85 and 100 years old. Because Goliath and Sweet Pea are more than 200 years old together, the Zoo of Miami Guinness World Records has asked to recognize the two turtles as the oldest parents ever. Also the recognition of Goliath as the oldest father ever is on the table.
The elderly turtle takes his legs out of the house in Saaksum after 67 years: ‘He can’t swim’
Goliath himself seems to bother it less. Even more: he is not even aware of his paternity. After all, young Galapagos turtles do not receive parental care in the wild. Animal carers then placed the young in a separate stay and the animal is doing well, the zoo reports.