Love At First FaceTime! Endangered Galapagos Tortoises Share First Date Virtually

A pair of endangered Galapagos tortoises have had a first date via FaceTime. In a story many singletons can relate to during lockdown, Hugo and his new girlfriend Estrella were forced to meet for the first time virtually. Hugo has lived at the Australian Reptile Park since 1963, and now, at the age of 70, Hugo is “ready to settle down”. His mate, Estrella, was due to arrive in early 2020 from Germany but her arrival was postponed until June of 2021 because of COVID-19 restrictions. Despite Estrella’s arrival to the land down under, she will be in mandatory quarantine until September and so the pair had a virtual date where keepers at the zoo said “the chemistry was off the charts”. Keepers are hoping for successful breeding between the two in coming years to help bolster numbers for the endangered species.