Santa Cruz Island
It is hard to believe that after four full days in the Galápagos Islands we are still discovering things and learning more and more about conservation.
Today our visit was dedicated entirely to the ancient giant tortoises. Early in the morning, shortly after breakfast, we headed to the Charles Darwin Research station (CDRS) to learn and see with our own eyes how dedicated the people that work in this place are. The giant tortoises were eating by the time we made it to the enclosures were they are kept.
Many of the tortoises found nowadays at the Charles Darwin Station were found outside the Galápagos and were relocated to the island of Santa Cruz. Unfortunately for those giant reptiles they were found already as adults, making impossible the repatriation to their original born islands. Several programs for conservation have been developed ever since the Darwin station was founded. One of the most important ones has been the rearing-in-captivity program for the Espanola giant tortoises. This population was found on the edge of extinction back in the beginning of the 70’s, when introduced goats overpopulated the island and made it hard for the giant tortoises to find enough food supply. Besides, eggs were destroyed by the carelessly migration of goats on the island. This was enough for the CDRS to create what nowadays is considered to be one of the most succesful programs of the CDRS. In the year of 1970 only twelve females and two males were rescued and immediately relocated to the CDRS. A few years down the road a third male was located at the San Diego Zoo and brought back to the Galápagos to help the spreading of his race’s gene pool. The program was so succesful that this tortoise, named by the locals “Super Diego” (in the picture), made possible the breeding of more than two thousand tortoise offspring! Of course, because of that, Diego’s popularity spread through the world, and now many visitors come to the Station looking for the hero that saved an entire population form the edge of extinction. Well done Diego and keep up the good work!
It is hard to believe that after four full days in the Galápagos Islands we are still discovering things and learning more and more about conservation.
Today our visit was dedicated entirely to the ancient giant tortoises. Early in the morning, shortly after breakfast, we headed to the Charles Darwin Research station (CDRS) to learn and see with our own eyes how dedicated the people that work in this place are. The giant tortoises were eating by the time we made it to the enclosures were they are kept.
Many of the tortoises found nowadays at the Charles Darwin Station were found outside the Galápagos and were relocated to the island of Santa Cruz. Unfortunately for those giant reptiles they were found already as adults, making impossible the repatriation to their original born islands. Several programs for conservation have been developed ever since the Darwin station was founded. One of the most important ones has been the rearing-in-captivity program for the Espanola giant tortoises. This population was found on the edge of extinction back in the beginning of the 70’s, when introduced goats overpopulated the island and made it hard for the giant tortoises to find enough food supply. Besides, eggs were destroyed by the carelessly migration of goats on the island. This was enough for the CDRS to create what nowadays is considered to be one of the most succesful programs of the CDRS. In the year of 1970 only twelve females and two males were rescued and immediately relocated to the CDRS. A few years down the road a third male was located at the San Diego Zoo and brought back to the Galápagos to help the spreading of his race’s gene pool. The program was so succesful that this tortoise, named by the locals “Super Diego” (in the picture), made possible the breeding of more than two thousand tortoise offspring! Of course, because of that, Diego’s popularity spread through the world, and now many visitors come to the Station looking for the hero that saved an entire population form the edge of extinction. Well done Diego and keep up the good work!
