Gramma, an estimated 141-year-old Gal\u00e1pagos tortoise, died Thursday at the San Diego Zoo, ending a near century-long chapter of what the zoo said was quiet, yet constant ambassadorship to generations of zoo visitors.<\/p>\n
The tortoise was among the first group of Gal\u00e1pagos tortoises to arrive in San Diego in 1928, and was the oldest living creature at the zoo at the time of her death, officials said Friday on social media. Legend has it her arrival was welcomed by the zoo\u2019s founder, Harry Wegeforth.<\/p>\n
The zoo said staff had been \u201cclosely monitoring her ongoing bone conditions related to advanced age.\u201d The condition had recently progressed, so they made the \u201ccompassionate and exceptionally difficult decision\u201d to euthanize her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is astonishing to consider what Gramma lived through in her lifetime \u2026 as the world around her experienced more than 20 U.S. presidents, two World Wars and two pandemics,\u201d zoo officials said.<\/p>\n
She eventually became an icon to zoo staff and guests as she and her fellow tortoises became interwoven with the history of the Balboa Park institution.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SUT-L-Galapagos-tortoise.jpg\")
A zoo visitor plays with a giant Galapagos tortoise named ‘Grandma’ inside its enclosure at the San Diego Zoo on Jan. 13, 2015. The tortoises are native to the Gala\u00a1pagos Islands off South America and also the Aldabra Island in the Indian Ocean and are the largest species of tortoise. AFP PHOTO\/MARK RALSTON<\/p>\n
Although the life span of a Gal\u00e1pagos tortoise averages around 35 years, researchers estimate that Gramma was born in 1884.<\/p>\n