The Houston Zoo is home to a 90-year-old father.
Long-time zoo favorite, the radiated tortoise named Mister Pickles, the zoo's oldest animal, has fathered three babies named Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeno.
Zookeepers say the birth is a big deal because their daddy, Mister Pickles, is the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan.
Mister Pickles has been at the Zoo for 36 years and has been with his companion, Mrs. Pickles, since she arrived in 1996.
The new arrivals Dill, Gherkin, and Jalapeno are only the size of a human palm right now. The will remain behind the scenes until they are big enough to safely join their parents.
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