Lived to 141... San Diego Zoo's 'Queen' Tortoise Passes Away from Age-Related Illness

Euthanized at 141
Galapagos Tortoise Passes Away After Age-Related Illness Worsens

Born in the 19th century, a Galapagos tortoise that had been loved for over a century at the San Diego Zoo in the United States has passed away at the age of 141.

The Galapagos tortoise named Germa, loved for over a century, has passed away at the age of 141. Photo by San Diego Zoo Instagram

On November 25 (local time), the Associated Press reported that "Germa, the tortoise, was the oldest resident of the zoo and enjoyed eating romaine lettuce and cactus fruit. She was euthanized on November 20 due to the worsening of age-related bone disease."

According to the report, Germa is believed to have been born in the wild, and her age is estimated to be about 141 years. The exact date of her arrival at the zoo is unknown, but the zoo believes that Germa was part of the first group of Galapagos tortoises transferred from the Bronx Zoo in either 1928 or 1931.

Germa was loved by visitors for her gentle and shy personality. The tortoise witnessed two world wars and the terms of 20 U.S. presidents, sharing in the zoo's history. The caretaker in charge of Germa affectionately called her "The Queen of the Zoo."

However, Germa recently suffered from age-related bone disease, and as her condition rapidly deteriorated, the zoo decided to proceed with euthanasia.

On social media, visitors shared memories of seeing Germa for the first time as children and returning decades later with their own children. Christina Park, a 69-year-old visitor, said, "I remember visiting the San Diego Zoo when I was three or four and riding on the tortoise's back," adding, "That experience led me to raise desert tortoises and sparked my interest in tortoise conservation." This kind of activity is now prohibited.

Galapagos tortoises can live for over 100 years in the wild and nearly twice as long in captivity. The longest-lived individual was "Harriet," who was collected from the Galapagos Islands in the South Pacific in 1835 and died at the age of 175 at an Australian zoo in 2006. Harriet is believed to have hatched around 1830.

Currently, three out of the 15 subspecies of Galapagos tortoises are extinct, and the remaining species are also endangered. Conservation organizations have carried out artificial breeding for decades, and since 1965, more than 10,000 hatchlings have been released into the wild.

This April, four Galapagos tortoises hatched at the Philadelphia Zoo in the United States from a pair of parents estimated to be around 100 years old, marking a significant achievement. In June, "Goliath" at the Miami Zoo succeeded in breeding for the first time at the age of 135.