The Philadelphia Zoo has unveiled 16 western Santa Cruz tortoise hatchlings, the first offspring for a century-old breeding pair known as Mommy and Abrazzo. The babies emerged from two clutches laid earlier this year and were presented to the public on 20 August with a slow ‘red-carpet’ walk outside the zoo’s tortoise habitat. Western Santa Cruz tortoises, native to Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago, are listed as critically endangered. Zoo officials say the genetic line represented by Mommy—who arrived in Philadelphia in 1932—and Abrazzo is highly valuable to global conservation programmes. The hatchlings will stay in Philadelphia for roughly a year before being transferred to other accredited facilities. Lauren Augustine, the zoo’s director of herpetology, called the brood “a win for the species,” noting that the animals are feeding and growing normally. With lifespans that can approach two centuries, the new arrivals could bolster captive-breeding efforts for decades. The zoo is soliciting donor-backed names for one male hatchling while the rest, already tagged with nontoxic nail polish, have been named by keepers.