LandofGiants
Whichanimalisbestknownontheislands?It’sthegianttortoise.InDarwin’stime,therewere15species.Today,thereareonly 11.
Manytortoiseswerekilledbysailorsandwhalers.Theyatethetortoises.Tortoiseswerealsoexploitedfortheirfat.Itwasusedinlamps.About200,000tortoiseswerekilledforthese reasons.
Galápagosgiant tortoise
gianttortoisewithsaddle backshell
gianttortoisewithdomed shell
TortoisesToday
In1959,theGalápagosNationalParkwascreated.AfoundationinhonorofCharlesDarwinwasformed.Itopenedcenterswheretortoisescouldbe bred.
Now,tortoisescanberaisedinasafeplace.Whentheyhatchfromtheireggs,theyareverysmall.Theyneedtobe protected.
Astheygrow,theylearntofindfood.Whentheyareoldenough,theyarereturnedtotheirislands.Sofar,morethan7,000youngtortoiseshavebeenraisedatthecenters.Theirnumberscontinueto grow!
LonesomeGeorge?
NoonehadseenaPintaIslandtortoisesince1906.Wasitextinct?Thenin1971,ascientistsawone.ThatwasLonesomeGeorge.Georgewasmovedtoaresearch station.
Georgelivedtherefor40 years.Hewasabout100whenhedied.WiththelossofGeorge,thePintaIslandtortoisebecame extinct.
