Despite being their oldest animal, Mr. Pickles, a radiated tortoise, is the father of three newborn hatchlings reported the Houston Zoo. Among the zoo’s press releases, it said the hatchlings “came as a surprise,” discovered after a herpetology keeper observed “Mrs. Pickles” laying her eggs after the zoo closed.

It didn’t take long for the animal care team to relocate the eggs to the Reptile & Amphibian House. If the keeper hadn’t been in the right place at the right time, the eggs might not have hatched on their own since Houston’s soil isn’t hospitable to Madagascar native tortoises.

The new hatchlings are currently being kept behind the scenes until they are old enough to safely join their parents. The three hatchlings have been given appropriately pickle-themed names: Jalapeño, Dill and Gherkin. Jalapeño has the darkest shell; Dill and Gherkin have lighter shells but Gherkin is the one with the white dot in the center:

This is great news not only due to Mr. Pickles’ advanced age, but also because the radiated tortoise is a critically endangered species: native to Madagascar, they are threatened by illegal pet trade. In the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, new dad Mr. Pickles was described as “the most genetically valuable radiated tortoise”.

The zoo has been home to Mr. Pickles for 36 years, and his companion Mrs. Pickles arrived in 1996. Members and admissions at the Houston Zoo go towards replanting wildlife habitat in Madagascar in order to save wild animals.

Congratulations to Mr. Pickles on becoming a new father at 90, and congratulations to the Houston Zoo on welcoming these critically endangered babies into the world!