111-Year-Old To Become a Dad

An indigenous New Zealand reptile regarded as one of the last living remnants of the dinosaurs will become a father at the age of 111.

A venerable New Zealand reptile that has outlived nearly every human who was also born in 1897 finally became a father at the ripe old age of 111.

Henry the tuatara is a member of a species considered to be “living fossils” because they are thought to be the last descendants of a creature that roamed the Earth during the age of the dinosaurs 225 million years ago.

He had shown no interest in the opposite sex during most of the 40 years he has lived in captivity at the Southland Museum, and was kept in isolation due to his aggressive behavior.

But all that changed after a cancerous tumor was removed from his bottom.

He has since been enjoying the company of three females, and mated with Mildred, a younger tuatara in her 70s, who produced 12 eggs in July.

The museum had tried to mate Henry with Mildred 25 years ago, but he instead bit her tail off ... twice.

New Zealand wildlife experts say the future of the tuatara is threatened by global warming because the sex of the reptile is determined by temperature.

Research shows that the warmer the climate, the more likely it is that the offspring will be male. Some predict that without a solution to global warming, no female tuataras will be born in 80 years.

Photo: Undy - Fotolia
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