First ever red-footed tortoise hatches at M&D's theme park
Amazonia, a temperature-controlled tropical attraction within M&D's Scotland's Theme Park, welcomed the surprise over Easter.
The new tortoise was christened Apollo by staff, as it was hatched on the 55th anniversary of the launch of the Apollo 13 spacecraft.
Read more: 'A beautiful interaction': Glasgow Lush manager shares favourite customer moment
Red-footed tortoises, native to rainforests in South America, are listed as a vulnerable species.
This means they face a high risk of extinction in the wild as a result of threats such as habitat loss, hunting, and the pet trade.
Apollo hatched over Easter (Image: Supplied) Found in Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru, they grow to an average length of 12 inches and can live for around 50 to 70 years.
Since last November, staff at Amazonia have been incubating two eggs from their existing adult group.
The eggs have an incubation period of between 120 and 190 days.
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Amanda Gott, zoologist and manager at Amazonia, said: "It's amazing that our little surprise arrived over Easter.
"Apollo is currently about the size of a matchbox and will initially take nutrients from the egg sac before moving on to a diet of high calcium greens and a small amount of protein.
"Apollo is currently housed in our animal handling room, where visitors in these sessions will be able to see it, although it's too tiny for handling at this stage."
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