14 DAY TRIAL // Staff at Australia's Taronga Western Plains Zoo is pleased to announce that the facility is now home to two baby Galápagos tortoises.
The tiny creatures belong to an endangered species, hence the fact that quite a lot of conservationists jumped for joy at the news of their birth.
According to Zoo Borns, the two rare Galápagos tortoises hatched earlier this year. Thus, the first emerged from its egg on January 24, and the other one made its appearance a couple of days later.
As noticeable in the picture above, the young reptiles are fairly small, at least when compared to other tortoises. However, keepers say that, when they mature, their physique will surely not fail to impress people.
Thus, wildlife researchers say that Galápagos tortoises can grow to weigh as much as 400 kilograms (about 880 pounds) and measure up to 1.5 meters (approximately 5 feet) from head to tail. Besides, studies have shown that they can reach the age of 100 years.
According to conservationists, just 15,000 such reptiles are currently left in the wild on the Galápagos archipelago. The species owes its endangered status to the fact that, over the years, many people, and especially sailors, hunted them and feasted on their meat.