120-year-old Galapagos tortoise becomes 2nd longtime El Paso Zoo animal to die of cancer

EL PASO, Texas — The El Paso Zoo’s 120-year-old Galapagos tortoise named Ralph has died after a battle with cancer, officials announced Friday, with the zoo's chief veterinarian saying they were "devastated" by the loss.

“I know we did absolutely everything we could for him, but it is still so difficult to have this sad outcome," said Dr. Victoria Milne.

Ralph's death was the second in recent months of a longtime and beloved zoo resident due to cancer. In April, the 53-year-old Asian elephant Juno succumbed to breast cancer after a lengthy battle that included surgery.

Like Juno, Ralph had also undergone surgeries for his malignant tumor that were aimed at saving his life. Earlier this year, an initial surgery for Ralph temporarily relieved an intestinal blockage caused by his tumor - but it only bought him a limited amount of time.

Zoo officials said Friday that Ralph didn't survive a second, follow-up surgery which was his only chance for survival; he passed away while under anesthesia for the aggressive procedure.

“We knew that Ralph had no other options and we did not enter into this procedure lightly. Despite our best efforts and an experienced team, it was just too much for Ralph’s debilitated system to survive,” explained Milne. "While the surgery has been performed on smaller tortoises, it had not been attempted (previously) on a Galapagos tortoise."

The El Paso Zoo acquired Ralph in 2016 from the Phoenix Zoo as part of a zoo association species survival plan. He was a companion to Mr. Potato Head, the other Galapagos tortoise here in El Paso.

Ralph and Mr. Potato Head were featured a year ago in a zoo series by ABC-7's Nate Ryan entitled "The Nate-ure Report." Click here for that story.