In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2012, Matt Evans, supervisory biologist at the National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center, holds a 13-day-old Cuban crocodile hatchling in Washington. Two crocodiles hatched from surprise eggs laid by a 50-something-year-old Cuban crocodile at the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2012, Matt Evans, supervisory biologist at the National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center, holds a 13-day-old Cuban crocodile hatchling in Washington. Two crocodiles hatched from surprise eggs laid by a 50-something-year-old Cuban crocodile at the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2012, Matt Evans, supervisory biologist at the National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center, holds a 13-day-old Cuban crocodile hatchling in Washington. Two crocodiles hatched from surprise eggs laid by a 50-something-year-old Cuban crocodile at the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2012, Matt Evans, supervisory biologist at the National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center, holds a 13-day-old Cuban crocodile hatchling in Washington. Two crocodiles hatched from surprise eggs laid by a 50-something-year-old Cuban crocodile at the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2012, Matt Evans, supervisory biologist at the National Zoo's Reptile Discovery Center, holds a 13-day-old Cuban crocodile hatchling in Washington. Two crocodiles hatched from surprise eggs laid by a 50-something-year-old Cuban crocodile at the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
In this photo taken Thursday, July 19, 2012, Barbara Watkins, an animal keeper in the Reptile Discovery Center of the National Zoo, holds a five-day-old Cuban crocodile hatchling in Washington. Two hatchlings were born from surprise eggs laid by a 50-something-year old Cuban crocodile at the National Zoo. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Two endangered Cuban crocodiles have hatched at the National Zoo in Washington.
The hatchings are considered genetically valuable because their mother, Dorothy, was caught in the wild. Dorothy is thought to be 55 years old and zookeepers figured she had stopped laying eggs years ago.
But when they discovered she had laid eggs, they took great care to incubate them for months. Only two of the eggs hatched successfully, the first Cuban crocs to do so at the zoo in nearly 25 years.
Scientists believe there are fewer than 6,000 Cuban crocs remaining in the wild in two small areas of Cuba.
U.S. zoos are trying to expand the population, though births are rare. There have been a handful of hatchings in Florida and Kentucky zoos.
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