The Denver Zoo welcomed a new member to the family recently, a rare African pancake tortoise that’s so small she can fit in the palm of your hand! The TODAY Show shared a video of the baby on TikTok on Friday, June 13th, and she’s absolutely adorable!
The zoo discovered an egg that belonged to their female tortoise, Waffles, in December. She is one of four pancake tortoises that reside at the zoo; the other three are males named Short-Stack, Denny, and Flapjack. Six months later, the egg hatched, and the zoo said hello to the first pancake tortoise to ever be born there!
@todayshow She can fit in the palm of your hand! Take a look at the first African Pancake tortoise hatched at the Denver Zoo.
No news on what the zoo will name her, but I bet her name will be as cute as her mom’s name and be pancake-themed like the others! TODAY Show commenters all said the same thing about the baby – she’s a cutie! And I think we can all agree with @Carly who said, “Wow, that little tortoise is so tiny and cute I could watch her all day!”
Related: Tiny New Galapagos Tortoise Babies at Philadelphia Zoo Have Everyone Captivated
More About African Pancake Tortoises
In a recent Instagram post, the Denver Zoo shared more of the baby tortoise’s story “Last December, our Animal Ambassador team found a perfect little egg in our pancake tortoise habitat. They carefully transported it to Tropical Discovery were our Animal Care Specialists there incubated it for the last six months. Then, on Friday, May 23, there was a successful hatching of a female tortoise!”
The post goes on to say, “She might be tiny for now, but her role in conservation is huge. Pancake tortoises are Critically Endangered, and this marks the first successful breeding and hatching at DZCA.”
There are fewer than 5,000 African pancake tortoises left in the world. Axios reported that pancake tortoises are native to East Africa and are critically endangered “due in large part to habitat loss and the illegal pet trade, per the IUCN Red List.” Because of this, breeding programs like the Denver Zoo’s help protect these tortoises from extinction.
Unlike many tortoises that can weigh hundreds of pounds, pancake tortoises stay pretty small. They typically hatch at around two inches in length and reach their full size of about 7 inches in length and about 1–1.5 inches in height by adulthood, with females slightly longer than males.
Zoo officials stated that the tortoises live behind the scenes for the most part, but some lucky visitors might be able to see and learn about them at the zoo’s Ambassador Carts throughout the summer.