THE OLDEST RESIDENT at a zoo in the US has celebrated his 135th birthday and his first Father’s Day.

Goliath, a 234kg Galapagos tortoise at Zoo Miami in Florida, became a father for the first time earlier this month, zoo officials said.

One egg out of a clutch of eight laid on 27 January successfully hatched on 4 June, officials said.

Besides being Goliath’s first offspring, it is also the first time one of the endangered reptiles has hatched at Zoo Miami.

“Goliath is my hero, and I am sure he will soon be an inspiration to many others!” spokesman Ron Magill said in a statement.

“He is living proof that where there is a will, there is a way and to never give up!”

This Father’s Day, Zoo Miami’s oldest animal, "Goliath," will be celebrating his 134th birthday! Until this prior week, he had not fathered any offspring. That changed when 1 egg out of a clutch of 8 hatched on June 4th! Learn more: https://t.co/qSnyCycpxX

📸: Ron Magill pic.twitter.com/VOZ9cadxed

— Zoo Miami (@zoomiami) June 13, 2025

The animals’ numbers were drastically reduced before the 20th century by human exploitation and the introduction of invasive species to the Galapagos Islands.

Modern threats include climate change and habitat loss.

According to Goliath’s official record, he hatched on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on 15 June between 1885 and 1890.

The island group is located near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, several hundred miles west of mainland Ecuador.

Goliath arrived at the Bronx Zoo in 1929 and moved to Zoo Miami in 1981.

He has bred with several different females during his time at Zoo Miami, but he has never sired an offspring.

The new hatchling’s mother, Sweet Pea, is estimated to be between 85 and 100 years old.

Officials said that both parents are doing well in their public habitat, while the hatchling appears to be healthy in a separate enclosure.

Wild hatchlings are not raised by their parents.

With reporting from Press Association