Santa Cruz Island
Today while watching and talking about the Galapagos giant tortoises, I could not avoid thinking about their future. For me it is marvelous to have the chance to be an active witness of the titanic attempts to restore the dynasty of these majestic reptiles. After the discovery of the Galapagos archipelago in 1535, a long period of unconscious years started. It was soon discovered as well that the meat of these slow-moving and indifferent animals was excellent eating. In addition, giant tortoises can survive without eating or drinking for more than a year. They were stored like living meat boxes for long periods of time. Their abundant meat and the obvious lack of refrigerators made many hungry pirates, buccaneers, whalers, sealers and early colonists take part through time in the slow and devastating deterioration of their historical numbers.
Nowadays these black years are over. We are living an enthusiastic golden era, an era of optimism about their future. Many Giant tortoises’ races are being reproduced under captive conditions and are repatriated to the islands they belong to. A beautiful example is the Española case. In the early sixties it was determined that just two males and twelve females represented the total population on that island. A very small population density that obviously did not allow them to even have the chance to met each other. Little by little all these individuals were transported to the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in team work with the Galapagos National Park (GNP). The goal was to reproduce the reptiles under captive conditions to increase their numbers. In April 1975, for the first time, 17 small tortoises were repatriated to the island. On August 1978, a new male arrived! It was Diego, as we call him; he came from San Diego Zoo. This male was identified and located there. It came back after fifty years of absence. Diego and his friends have been the parents of the extremely rare Española race new babies born in the Station since that. Well, I have good news: tomorrow, 67 five-year old new tortoises will be repatriated to Española Island. With these new addition the total number of repatriated tortoises will reach 1,300 individuals! An incredible and remarkable success in conservation.
One day in the future many years from now, if life permits me, I hope to come back to this paradise. I hope to find healthy larger populations roaming free on the islands. I hope to finally learn that most of the introduced animals and plants that affect their survival are either gone or under control. The latter sentences would seem to describe a utopia for many, or would seem a little romantic, but watching the amazing efforts and hard work of the GNP and the CDRS; these dreams are slowly becoming reality.
Today while watching and talking about the Galapagos giant tortoises, I could not avoid thinking about their future. For me it is marvelous to have the chance to be an active witness of the titanic attempts to restore the dynasty of these majestic reptiles. After the discovery of the Galapagos archipelago in 1535, a long period of unconscious years started. It was soon discovered as well that the meat of these slow-moving and indifferent animals was excellent eating. In addition, giant tortoises can survive without eating or drinking for more than a year. They were stored like living meat boxes for long periods of time. Their abundant meat and the obvious lack of refrigerators made many hungry pirates, buccaneers, whalers, sealers and early colonists take part through time in the slow and devastating deterioration of their historical numbers.
Nowadays these black years are over. We are living an enthusiastic golden era, an era of optimism about their future. Many Giant tortoises’ races are being reproduced under captive conditions and are repatriated to the islands they belong to. A beautiful example is the Española case. In the early sixties it was determined that just two males and twelve females represented the total population on that island. A very small population density that obviously did not allow them to even have the chance to met each other. Little by little all these individuals were transported to the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in team work with the Galapagos National Park (GNP). The goal was to reproduce the reptiles under captive conditions to increase their numbers. In April 1975, for the first time, 17 small tortoises were repatriated to the island. On August 1978, a new male arrived! It was Diego, as we call him; he came from San Diego Zoo. This male was identified and located there. It came back after fifty years of absence. Diego and his friends have been the parents of the extremely rare Española race new babies born in the Station since that. Well, I have good news: tomorrow, 67 five-year old new tortoises will be repatriated to Española Island. With these new addition the total number of repatriated tortoises will reach 1,300 individuals! An incredible and remarkable success in conservation.
One day in the future many years from now, if life permits me, I hope to come back to this paradise. I hope to find healthy larger populations roaming free on the islands. I hope to finally learn that most of the introduced animals and plants that affect their survival are either gone or under control. The latter sentences would seem to describe a utopia for many, or would seem a little romantic, but watching the amazing efforts and hard work of the GNP and the CDRS; these dreams are slowly becoming reality.
