DENVER (KDVR) — An egg that was found in a tortoise habitat at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance over the winter has successfully hatched a tiny, but largely important, baby tortoise.
Tuesday, the zoo announced that a female African pancake tortoise hatched at DZCA, marking the zoo’s first-ever successful breeding and hatching of the Critically Endangered species.
“She might be tiny for now, but her role in conservation is huge, the zoo wrote in a post on Facebook.
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A female African pancake tortoise hatched at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance on May 23, 2025, marking the zoo’s first-ever successful breeding and hatching of the Critically Endangered species. -
A female African pancake tortoise hatched at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance on May 23, 2025, marking the zoo’s first-ever successful breeding and hatching of the Critically Endangered species. -
A female African pancake tortoise hatched at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance on May 23, 2025, marking the zoo’s first-ever successful breeding and hatching of the Critically Endangered species.
The zoo said its Animal Ambassador team “found a perfect little egg” in December and carefully took it to Tropical Discovery. Animal care specialists incubated it for six months before it hatched on May 23.
The new arrival joins four others at DZCA, including her mom, Waffles and three males, Short-Stack, Denny and Flapjack.
The zoo said the pancake tortoises live behind the scenes, but guests can see them at Ambassador Carts throughout the summer.
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