Conservation
Recent genetic tests performed on two groups of about giant tortoises living on the island of Santa Cruz has revealed the existence of a brand new species. Previously, scientists believed that tortoises living on the western and eastern sides of Santa Cruz belonged to the same species.
Conservation
2015 has been a good year so far for Galapagos giant tortoises. In January we reported that a team of researchers had discovered 10 baby saddelback tortoises on Pinzon, offering definitive proof that tortoises are being hatched and reared on the island for the first time in over a century.
Galapagos Islands
Even in death, Lonesome George is still undoubtedly the world’s most famous Galapagos giant tortoise. As the last living Pinta Island tortoise, his inability to reproduce and save his subspecies made him an international celebrity and a powerful, poignant symbol of the finality and tragedy of extinction.
Galapagos Islands
Invasive species are often bad news. This is especially true in a place like the Galapagos Islands, where a single introduced species can wreak havoc on sensitive ecosystems and have a devastating impact on endemic flora and fauna, which haven’t evolved to cope or compete with new arrivals.
Galapagos Islands
Have ever wondered what a bunch of captive juvenile Galapagos giant tortoises get up to when they think no one is watching? No? Well, now’s your chance.
Galapagos Islands
It’s no secret that social media can sometimes prompt people do foolish things. More and more, the prospect of instant notoriety, or even just a lot of Facebook likes, seems to be too strong a lure for many, especially young people, to resist as they engage in increasingly outlandish behavior. Take the case of Fazal Shaik.
Conservation
Good news about the environment seems to be a rarity these days, which makes this story all the more enjoyable to share.
Nature & Wildlife
By Rachel Kramer, Program Officer, Wildlife Conservation and TRAFFIC My husband and I are scientists. We are fascinated by species and their habitats. When it came to selecting a place for our honeymoon, the Galapagos Islands—visited in as low-impact a manner a possible—was our dream.
Galapagos Islands
What happens when two Galapagos giant tortoises meet on a narrow pathway going in opposite directions? Thanks to this video from WWF we know the answer to this intriguing question. Like many other species, they establish which animal is dominant and go from there.
Conservation
And now for some good news. Conservationists announced yesterday that the Espanola giant tortoise has been brought back from the edge of extinction. There were only 14 of them left on the island in the 1960s. Today there are around 1,000.
Videos
The passing of Lonesome George last month was a sobering event for the whole world. With him went the last of his kind, the giant Galapagos Pinta tortoise.
Nature & Wildlife
Lonesome George died this past Sunday morning. His caretaker, Fausto Llerena, found the giant tortoise’s remains stretched out in his corral, facing his watering hole, at the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands. I didn’t know George personally, but I grew up knowing about him.
