Living Fossil Finds Love (Or Something Like It)
A lizard is never too old for love.
(CNN) — It took about 110 years and some delicate surgery on his most private parts, but Henry — a lizard-like creature from New Zealand — is now a dad.
Henry, a tuatara who, as far as curators at Southland Museum in New Zealand know, had never mated before, hooked up with Mildred, a younger woman of about 80, in March.
In July she laid 11 healthy eggs and, this week, all 11 of them hatched — the last one on Wednesday.
“Eleven out of eleven,” curator Lindsay Hazley said Friday morning. “Bloody brilliant. We had a champagne breakfast to celebrate.”
UPDATE at 1/30/09 5:10:34 pm:
Here’s video of the cute little tykes. (Warning! NSFW!)
(Hat tip: wrenchwench.)