The “virgin birth” of Iguana praised Zoo’s guards as “one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom”

An iguana in a zoo in the United Kingdom gave birth despite having never coupled with a man, according to the staff of the establishment, who praised the “virgin birth” as “one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom”.

The guards of the exotic zoo in Tell in Tell, in the center of England, say that the female helmet iguana was able to give birth to eight healthy newborn in the last week of August due to a natural reproduction phenomenon called parthenogenesis, which allows non-fertilized eggs to develop in embryos which become genetic clones of the mother.

“This is one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom,” said Scott Adams, director of the zoo, in a press release shared with CBS News.

Finding eggs inside the mother was “unusual but exciting at the same time,” he said, adding that there were staff “thinking, what happens here?”

“When we confirmed that the eggs were fertile without any contact with a male, our jaws hit the ground. These babies are essentially mini-mother clones, and seeing them prosper is incredible. For us, it is a powerful reminder that life finds a means in the most unexpected circumstances,” said Adams.

Newborns currently live in the climate of the zoo and humidity reptile Nursery, and should be to the public in the coming weeks.

“This story gives us an incredible opportunity to speak with our visitors about genetics, evolution and the challenges that the reptiles face in the wild,” said Scott. “It is not only exciting, it is also important for the education of science and conservation.”

Head headsets, from Central and South America, face loss of habitat and illegal poaching by people who can sell them as pets.

Parthenogenesis has only been documented in a handful of reptile species in the world. It has also been seen in other types of animals, including a female shoulder shark that gave birth To a puppy at the Brookfield zoo in Illinois in 2023.