The centenarian tuatara, named Henry, was thought to be long out of the mating game, until he was caught canoodling with a female named Mildred last March.
Posted on 01/26/2009 6:42:34 PM PST by DogByte6RER
111-year-old reptile becomes a dad
Monday, January 26, 2009
A reptile in New Zealand has unexpectedly become a father at the ripe old age of 111 - after receiving treatment for a cancer which had made him hostile toward prospective mates.
That consummation that resulted in 11 babies being hatched on Monday.
Tuatara are indigenous New Zealand creatures that resemble lizards, but are actually descended from a seperate lineage of reptiles that walked the earth with the dinosaurs 225 million years ago.
An endangered species, the hatchlings born at the Southland Museum and Art Gallery will provide a badly needed boost to the tuatara's genetic diversity, said the gallery's tuatara curator, Lindsay Hazley.
Henry was at least 70 years old when he arrived at the museum, 'a grumpy old man' who attacked other reptiles, including females. He stayed that way until a cancerous tumor was removed from his genitals in 2002, said Hazley.
'I went off the idea he was good for breeding,' Hazley told The Associated Press, but once the tumor was removed, 'he was no longer aggressive.'
The museum now has 72 of the reptiles after 42 hatchings in the past two years.
Hazley hopes to use Henry regularly in the breeding program that is helping expand tuatara numbers, after their population had been dramatically reduced by predators.
Tuatara are estimated to number about 50,000, most of them living in predator-free sanctuaries, including offshore islands.
A male Tuatara takes 70 years to fully mature but reaches sexual maturity about age 20.
While there's no scientific data on the life span of the ancient reptiles, 'they go beyond 100 well and truly,' Hazley said. 'They can be around for 150 to 250 years.'
(Excerpt) Read more at metro.co.uk ...
Well, when I become 111 years-old I'm sure that I will be doing the same thing!
Hugh Hefner’s a papa again?!?
The centenarian tuatara, named Henry, was thought to be long out of the mating game, until he was caught canoodling with a female named Mildred last March.
Larry King?
This ought to be in breaking news.
“111-year-old reptile becomes a dad”
I didn’t even know Senator Byrd had remarried!
You beat me to it!
“I still got it !”
SEVENTY YEARS! To reach maturity??
No wonder the crazy things are endangered.
It's male after all?
Last year I held a tuatara at the San Diego Zoo.
Close-up of the tuatara at the San Diego Zoo. Way cool.
Yeah, but who could be amorous with a cancerous growth in his testicles?
Congrats Eaker !!
All that viagra paid off !
ping
Don't worry, Henry can still become a U.S. Senator from Arizona.
And you'll be just as much of a grouch if you get the same problem he had!
HEY! Where’s the warning? I was eating. Wasted my Chipotle.
HEY, DON’T LOOK AT ME! (My Caps Lock key wuz stuck!)
A true “little dinosaur”.
What a stud! My hat’s off to him (and the little lady too).
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