Tohelprebuildtortoisepopulationsinthewild,somearefirstraisedincaptivity.Here’showit works:
1
Inthewild,femaletortoiseslaytheireggsinnestholesandcoverthemwithsand.Whenscientistsfindtheburiedeggs,theybringthemtoarearing center.
2
Eacheggislabeled,weighed,andregistered.Theyarekeptindarkboxesthatmimictheirnaturalnests.Theytake120daysto hatch.
3
Itcantakeuptofivedaysforahatchlingtobreakfreefromitsegg.Hatchlingsfeedontheiryolksacfor30 more days.
4
Forabouttwoyears,youngtortoisesarekeptinspecialpens.Theseprotectthemfrompredators.Theylearntoforageontheir own.
5
Whentheyarefiveyearsold,oraboutthesizeofadinnerplate,theyareoldenoughtofendforthemselves.Thentheyarereleasedtothe wild.
KeepingthePeace
Anothersignificantconservationgoalistopreventhuman‑tortoiseconflicts.Thethreemaininhabitedislands—SantaCruz,SanCristóbal,andIsabela—havealreadyseen conflicts.
OnSantaCruz,forexample,tortoiseshavebeenarrivingattheedgesofthecityofPuertoAyora.Sometortoiseshaveeatenplastics.Othershavebeenhitbycars.Andatleastonewasattackedbystray dogs.
Ababytortoisecrawlsacrossa leaf.
ThepeopleoftheGalápagosknowandvaluethetreasuretheyhaveinthegianttortoises.Theyknowitiscrucialtoprotectand preserve.
PROTECTTHENATURALWORLD
OneofNationalGeographic’sgoalsistohelpprotectEarth’swildplaces.HowdidthestoriesmakeyoufeelabouttheGalápagosIslands?Doyouthinkitisimportanttoprotect them?
