Have you ever heard saying “age is just a number”? The saying is for this 80-year-old tortoise’s case, who gave birth for the first time. It’s very important event, because her species is endangered.

The Galapagos tortoises, who can live more than 150 years, are the largest tortoise species, weighing up to 900lb. But these kind of animals, back in the 70s  , was at the verge of extinction.

The tortoise’s name ,about which is the story ,is Nigrita, and she lives at the Zurich Zoo in Switzerland. She is a part of a breeding program meant to bring back types from its extinction. The news that she gave birth is amazing and so important for saving species.

Nigrita’s little babies are the stars of the Zurich Zoo. According to Robert Zing, the 54-year-old father is younger then Nigrita, because she is the oldest animal at the zoo, but the age hasn’t prevented to lay eggs.

“The newborns weigh around five ounces each, that means we should wait until they will grow as big as their mom,” said Robert.

A 100-year-old Galapagos male tortoise Diego is responsible for saving its entire species from extinction. Wildlife specialists told that the birth of about 2000 tortoise babies directly depends on the male.

The director of the Espanola Heritage Park in Canada ,Jorge Carrion, told AFP ,that  thanks to Diego about 1800 tortoises had been returned to Espanola and with natural reproduction whey had more or less 2000 tortoises.