Galapagos Tortoise Celebrates 135th Birthday And His First Father's Day at Zoo Miami
Zoo Miami noted that Goliath's official record has him hatching out on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on June 15, 1885, but this is his first confirmed offspring at least in the past 40 years.
Goliath arrived at the Bronx Zoo on July 23, 1929. After that, he finally came to Zoo Miami on July 30, 1981. He had bred with several different females, but never had a chance of becoming successful during his time at Zoo Miami.
Also Read | On Camera: Snake Slithers Into Crowded Waterfall In Mussoorie, Sparking Panic And Chaos
"Goliath is my hero, and I am sure he will soon be an inspiration to many others! He is living proof that where there is a will, there is a way and to never give up!" Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said in a statement.
Goliath became a father when one egg out of a clutch of eight successfully hatched on June 4, officials said. "Not only is this the first offspring for Goliath, but it is also the first time in the history of Zoo Miami that a Galapagos tortoise has hatched, making this a historic event on multiple levels!" the post read.
Galapagos tortoise
The Galapagos tortoise is a very large species of tortoise in the genus Chelonoidis. The species comprises 15 subspecies. It is the largest living species of tortoise and can weigh up to 417 kg. They are also the largest extant terrestrial cold-blooded animals.
The Galapagos tortoise's population numbers were once drastically reduced as it is listed as an endangered species, with a fall in numbers as a result of exploitation and habitat disruption.
Modern threats of climate change and ongoing habitat loss contribute to conservation urgency.
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First Post
22-06-2025
- First Post
Will humans go extinct if people stopped having babies?
In many countries, women are having fewer babies than their previous generations. As birth rates fall, how long will it take for humans to vanish if people do not reproduce anymore? read more Very few people live beyond a century. So, if no one had babies anymore, there would probably be no humans left on Earth within 100 years. But first, the population would shrink as older folks died and no one was being born. Even if all births were to suddenly cease, this decline would start slowly. Eventually there would not be enough young people coming of age to do essential work, causing societies throughout the world to quickly fall apart. Some of these breakdowns would be in humanity's ability to produce food, provide health care and do everything else we all rely on. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Food would become scarce even though there would be fewer people to feed. As an anthropology professor who has spent his career studying human behaviour, biology and cultures, I readily admit that this would not be a pretty picture. Eventually, civilisation would crumble. It's likely that there would not be many people left within 70 or 80 years, rather than 100, due to shortages of food, clean water, prescription drugs and everything else that you can easily buy today and need to survive. A catastrophe in the making To be sure, an abrupt halt in births is highly unlikely unless there's a global catastrophe. Here's one potential scenario, which writer Kurt Vonnegut explored in his novel 'Galapagos': A highly contagious disease could render all people of reproductive age infertile – meaning that no one would be capable of having babies anymore. Another possibility might be a nuclear war that no one survives – a topic that's been explored in many scary movies and books. A lot of these works are science fiction involving a lot of space travel. Others seek to predict a less fanciful Earth-bound future where people can no longer reproduce easily, causing collective despair and the loss of personal freedom for those who are capable of having babies. Two of my favourite books along these lines are ' The Handmaid's Tale,' by Canadian writer Margaret Atwood, and ' The Children of Men,' by British writer PD James. They are dystopian stories, meaning that they take place in an unpleasant future with a great deal of human suffering and disorder. And both have become the basis of television series and movies. In the 1960s and 1970s, many people also worried that there would be too many people on Earth, which would cause different kinds of catastrophes. Those scenarios also became the focus of dystopian books and movies. Population to touch 10 billion To be sure, the number of people in the world is still growing, even though the pace of that growth has slowed down. Experts who study population changes predict that the total will peak at 10 billion in the 2080s, up from 8 billion today and 4 billion in 1974. The US population currently stands at 342 million. That's about 200 million more people than were here when I was born in the 1930s. This is a lot of people, but both worldwide and in the US these numbers could gradually fall if more people die than are born. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD About 3.6 million babies were born in the US in 2024, down from 4.1 million in 2004. Meanwhile, about 3.3 million people died in 2022, up from 2.4 million 20 years earlier. The population will peak at 10 billion in the 2080s. Pixabay/Representational Image One thing that will be important as these patterns change is whether there's a manageable balance between young people and older people. That's because the young often are the engine of society. They tend to be the ones to implement new ideas and produce everything we use. Also, many older people need help from younger people with basic activities, like cooking and getting dressed. And a wide range of jobs are more appropriate for people under 65 rather than those who have reached the typical age for retirement. Falling fertility rates In many countries, women are having fewer children throughout their reproductive lives than used to be the case. That reduction is the most stark in several countries, including India and South Korea. The declines in birth rates occurring today are largely caused by people choosing not to have any children or as many as their parents did. That kind of population decline can be kept manageable through immigration from other countries, but cultural and political concerns often stop that from happening. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD At the same time, many men are becoming less able to father children due to fertility problems. If that situation gets much worse, it could contribute to a steep decline in population. Will humans go extinct? Our species, Homo sapiens, has been around for at least 200,000 years. That's a long time, but like all animals on Earth we are at risk of becoming extinct. Consider what happened to the Neanderthals, a close relative of Homo sapiens. They first appeared at least 400,000 years ago. Our modern human ancestors overlapped for a while with the Neanderthals, who gradually declined to become extinct about 40,000 years ago. Some scientists have found evidence that modern humans were more successful at reproducing our numbers than the Neanderthal people. This occurred when Homo sapiens became more successful at providing food for their families and also having more babies than the Neanderthals. If humans were to go extinct, it could open up opportunities for other animals to flourish on Earth. On the other hand, it would be sad for humans to go away because we would lose all of the great achievements people have made, including in the arts and science. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In my view, we need to take certain steps to ensure that we have a long future on our own planet. These include controlling climate change and avoiding wars. Also, we need to appreciate the fact that having a wide array of animals and plants makes the planet healthy for all creatures, including our own species. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
News18
16-06-2025
- News18
If Humans Stop Having Babies Today, How Long Will Humanity Survive?
Last Updated: A global halt in childbirth could lead to human extinction within a century, with societal collapse starting much earlier. Declining birth rates in Japan and US signal this trend A sudden halt in childbirth across the world could push human civilization toward extinction within a century, according to scientists. While the final end may come after 100 years, the decline would begin much earlier, as key social and economic systems collapse in the absence of new generations. First 10–20 Years: Gradual Decline Across Key Systems In the first 10-20 years, the changes would be gradual. Initially, life would continue as normal with people going to work, children attending school, and hospitals operating. However, as no new children are born and the elderly start to die, the young population would dwindle. The workforce in agriculture, factories, healthcare, engineering, and essential services would gradually decrease, leading to the deterioration of societal systems. After 30–50 Years: Societal Structures Begin To Crumble After 30-50 years, the absence of a young population would cause societal collapse. Services like agriculture, healthcare, and transportation would falter. There would be food shortages, a scarcity of medicines, and a crisis of clean water. Even though the population would be decreasing, resource management would have completely disintegrated. No new technology would be developed, diseases would go untreated, and society would fall into loneliness and chaos. After 70–80 Years: The Onset Of Humanity's Decline By 70-80 years, the end would be in sight. The human population would be confined to very limited areas, perhaps with gatherings of elderly people in some cities but no youth. It wouldn't be a generation gap, but the complete absence of an entire generation. Humans, like the Neanderthals, would become history. This scenario, while alarming, is not entirely dismissed by science. Possible causes could include a global pandemic that renders humans infertile, as depicted by Kurt Vonnegut in ' Galapagos ', a nuclear war that devastates life on Earth, or a demographic shift where people choose not to have children. Decline In Birth rates Declining birth rates are already a concern in countries like Japan and South Korea. In India, fewer children are being born, and in the US, births are projected to be 3.6 million in 2024, down from 4.1 million 20 years ago. Concurrently, the number of deaths reached 3.3 million in 2022. Without immigration, this trend of population decline will continue unimpeded. Social Equilibrium Will Begin To Crumble The balance between youth and the elderly is crucial for societal stability. The youth bring innovation, create technology, and care for the elderly. A decrease in the young population endangers the lives of the elderly, as eventually, there would be no one to care for them. Human Survival: A Brief Miracle Or Delayed Collapse? Human existence, which has spanned approximately 200,000 years, could face a similar fate to the Neanderthals, who became extinct 40,000 years ago due to their inability to manage resources and a declining fertility rate. If current birth trends and threats such as global climate change, war, and pandemics persist, human extinction is not a far-fetched scenario. First Published: June 16, 2025, 17:01 IST
NDTV
16-06-2025
- NDTV
Galapagos Tortoise Celebrates 135th Birthday And His First Father's Day at Zoo Miami
Father's Day at Zoo Miami was extra special as Goliath, a 517-pound Galapagos tortoise, turned 135 years old and also celebrated his first Father's Day on Sunday - a stunning double milestone after he became a father for the first time earlier this month at Zoo Miami. Zoo Miami noted that Goliath's official record has him hatching out on the island of Santa Cruz in the Galapagos on June 15, 1885, but this is his first confirmed offspring at least in the past 40 years. Goliath arrived at the Bronx Zoo on July 23, 1929. After that, he finally came to Zoo Miami on July 30, 1981. He had bred with several different females, but never had a chance of becoming successful during his time at Zoo Miami. Also Read | On Camera: Snake Slithers Into Crowded Waterfall In Mussoorie, Sparking Panic And Chaos "Goliath is my hero, and I am sure he will soon be an inspiration to many others! He is living proof that where there is a will, there is a way and to never give up!" Zoo Miami spokesman Ron Magill said in a statement. Goliath became a father when one egg out of a clutch of eight successfully hatched on June 4, officials said. "Not only is this the first offspring for Goliath, but it is also the first time in the history of Zoo Miami that a Galapagos tortoise has hatched, making this a historic event on multiple levels!" the post read. Galapagos tortoise The Galapagos tortoise is a very large species of tortoise in the genus Chelonoidis. The species comprises 15 subspecies. It is the largest living species of tortoise and can weigh up to 417 kg. They are also the largest extant terrestrial cold-blooded animals. The Galapagos tortoise's population numbers were once drastically reduced as it is listed as an endangered species, with a fall in numbers as a result of exploitation and habitat disruption. Modern threats of climate change and ongoing habitat loss contribute to conservation urgency.
