After five days of sailing and shore visits to eight different islands, our naturalists suddenly announced that we hadn’t yet “seen” the Galapagos. Though the islands are famous for uber-friendly sea lions and Blue-Footed Boobies that perform a unique dance as part of their mating ritual, they are best known for their land tortoises. Even the name of the archipelago derives from these behemoths. The first humans to visit, 16th century Spanish sailors, dubbed the islands Galapagos, a reference to a type of saddle that resembled the shells of the tortoises. The name stuck and so did the fascination. No visit to these remote volcanic islands is complete without seeing these giant lumbering creatures.

Giant land tortoise in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island is brave enough to check out my sister, Nancy

The following day our yacht anchored off Puerto Ayora on the island of Santa Cruz and we boarded a bus for the lush highlands where tortoises spend most of their year. Stepping quietly through thick grasses, we approached the tortoises from behind so as not to startle them, since they are one of very few species in the Galapagos that exhibit a fear of humans. Considering that their original numbers, estimated to have been in the 250,000 range, were reduced to a mere 3,000 as a result of uncontrolled hunting, it is amazing that they tolerate our presence at all. Most withdrew into their shells as we drew near but a few continued to munch contentedly on the thick, juicy grass and one even stuck its neck out all the way to check out my sister when she squatted down nearby.

Dome-backed tortoise in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island

Later that same afternoon, at the Charles Darwin Research Center, we learned about ongoing efforts to save the various species of Galapagos tortoises, two of which are already extinct and an additional two that are still in severe danger of extinction. In 1965, on Santa Cruz Island, the Charles Darwin Research Foundation began a breeding and repatriation program for the giant tortoises of Pinzón Island. Over the ensuing years, efforts were expanded to include threatened populations on other islands, including Española, where the population of 15 tortoises had remained static for a number of years.

Diego, a male from Española who was discovered at the San Diego Zoo, saved his species from extinction

When the government decided to eradicate the invasive population of rats on Española they removed the remaining tortoises to the Research Center, hoping a controlled environment would induce them to reproduce. But all efforts failed; for some reason the males refused to mate. They had almost given up hope when the San Diego Zoo called with an unexpected bit of news. Continue reading →

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