Remembering the queen of the zoo, a tortoise named Gramma.
An era has quietly ended at the San Diego Zoo with the passing of Gramma, a venerable Galápagos tortoise and its oldest resident, at approximately 141 years.
More than just an animal on display, Gramma was a living chronicle, a gentle soul who witnessed a century of history unfold from her habitat.
She arrived from the Bronx Zoo in the late 1920s, a stately presence who would become known as the “Queen of the Zoo.”
For generations, her slow, deliberate pace and shy demeanour offered a moment of timeless wonder.
Visitors who first met her as children returned decades later with their own, sharing her story across the years.
In her final days, age-related ailments progressed, leading to the difficult decision to euthanise her.
Gramma’s legacy, however, stretches beyond her long life.
Her story is intertwined with the fragile existence of her species in the wild, where they face critical endangerment.
Yet, her kindred spirits are seeing a revival; recent breeding successes in zoos, including a 135-year-old first-time father, signal a hopeful future for these gentle giants, a future that Gramma helped inspire.
