111 years old father
My last article started with an ancient petrified jaw of tuatara, which was found lately, and in this article I will tell some really great news about currently living tuatara.
Henry – the world’s oldest pangolin, a relic of the times of dinosaurs, who recently celebrated his 111th birthday – for the first time in his life became a father.
Henry is a tuatara – reptile endemic to New Zealand. The typical lifespan of tuatara is between 50 to 100 years, reaching maturity in 20 years. However, from the observation of New Zealand’s Southland Museum staff, Henry showed no interest in females for about forty years. The reason for this was partly because he had a genital cancer.
After successful operation in which the tumor was removed, another attempt was made to “reunite” Henry with the opposite sex, and this time successfully!
Mother of Henry’s children is the 70-year-old tuatara Mildred, who in July last year layed twelve eggs. Finally, in January 2009, nine little tuataras hatched. According to the museum’s curator they feel good, but Henry is not yet aware of their birth, because as curator said «if newborn pangolins come close to Henry, they may become his dinner».
According to DoC, to date there are about 100,000 tuataras who live in the wild, and are contained in the reserves. Henry’s habitat is the Museum of Southland, which is located in Invercargill (on South Island of New Zealand), which is likely to soon become popular among tourists.
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