Charles Darwin Foundation

There are two efforts to preserve tortoises in Galapagos. The first is protecting them on the 'open range.' The key there is eliminating the introduced competitors, namely goats. The second is to keep individuals in captivity. Typically, this consists of adults, which the curators hope will breed. Hatchlings can be raised and released.

Naturalists collect eggs from nests, hatch and raise the individuals until they can fend for themselves. As you can imagine, infant tortoises have very few defenses. Predatory birds and other natural enemies can easily decimate the dwindling population. By raising babies until they are (relatively) safe, the islands have a chance to restore the population (truly long range planning). This is one of the many missions of the Darwin Foundation.

In this video, you will see an enclosure with two male tortoises who were rescued from the wild. You will hear our naturalist describing the daily activity of a typical free range tortoise. They move mostly at night when it is cool and can travel up to five kilometers.

In the previous post, you saw tortoises in a preserve, which is up in the hills. They travel away from that area down the hills toward the lower areas to breed and lay their eggs. This is where the naturalists from the Darwin Foundation harvest the eggs.

In the beginning of the video, notice the second tortoise in the background. He will appear again near the end. Look at the shell of this second tortoise carefully.

If you noticed, there were three holes in the second tortoise's shell. These holes were created by a drunken sailor shooting this animal more that 30 years ago. The slugs are still lodged inside.


This another resident at the center. Notice the front of the shell above the neck -- how high it is. This is a perfect example of how species adapt to their environment. Unlike the other tortoises (above) who eat vegetation on the ground, this tortoise must reach up and eat from bushes and trees. Thus the front of the shell is elongated and raised. It is these types of differences that inspired Charles Darwin to formulate his Origin of Species.

After eggs are hatches, the babies are isolated in their own facilities. As they grow, they are moved to more natural settings until they are ready to release.

Here you can see the perils for any tortoise even without predators and competitors.

Last, but not least, is Lonesome George. This is the last known specimen of one species of Galapagos tortoise. There is a global effort to find a mate for George (eHarmony for reptiles). Many tortoises were carried off to zoos around the world and since they live for over a hundred years, it may be that Georges true love is out there waiting to be found. Or, explorers may find a mate hidden somewhere in the islands. As our guide explained, naturalists find new species every year. Finally, there is the possibility of cloning. Since George probably has another 50 years, there's time. He'll just have to talk to himself.











Think about it -- the world oil supply will expire before George does. So who's the survivor in this picture?