Santa Cruz Island
This day in our expedition was totally devoted to the Galápagos Giant Tortoises. We landed this morning in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the archipelago and the main business center as well. Our first stop was at the world-renowned Charles Darwin Research Station, located on the far edge of Puerto Ayora. This institute is the most important and prestigious one for scientific studies in the Galápagos. In this place, we learned about the Giant tortoises’ breeding and repatriation programs.
Around the rearing center we were able to observe tortoises from several islands. There are eleven tortoise subspecies differing somewhat in size and in the shape of their carapace in the Galápagos archipelago. Several of these subspecies can be seen in the Center. One of them, represented by Lonesome George, is a living celebrity. He is the last living tortoise from the island of Pinta. Huge efforts have been made to try to breed good old George with giant tortoises that are genetically similar to him. The goal is to preserve his precious genetic heritage. We are still waiting, with anxiety, to see what will happen with the eggs that a couple females laid in the pen they shared with George in recent months. This event is, by itself, a great success! Perhaps one day in the future we will have the joy to announce the return of George’s offspring to Pinta Island.
Later in the morning, around midday, we left the town behind and traveled by bus inland. We went up into the cooler, moist highlands of Santa Cruz. We had lunch at “Altair” a colorful restaurant that is surrounded by flowering plants. Afterwards we drove even higher on the island in search of Galápagos Giant Tortoises in the wild. The lush green landscapes seen here are very different from anything we have seen so far on this expedition. A short walk led us to find some majestic tortoises that were happily munching away the green vegetation of the surroundings. We all were delighted by the proximity and ecological naiveté of the antediluvian-looking reptiles.
After spending most of the day away from the ship, we reluctantly returned to town to come back on board the National Geographic Polaris. It is certainly amazing to realize that we spent such a valuable time among one of the world’s most extraordinary animal species, the Galápagos Giant Tortoise.
This day in our expedition was totally devoted to the Galápagos Giant Tortoises. We landed this morning in Puerto Ayora, the largest town in the archipelago and the main business center as well. Our first stop was at the world-renowned Charles Darwin Research Station, located on the far edge of Puerto Ayora. This institute is the most important and prestigious one for scientific studies in the Galápagos. In this place, we learned about the Giant tortoises’ breeding and repatriation programs.
Around the rearing center we were able to observe tortoises from several islands. There are eleven tortoise subspecies differing somewhat in size and in the shape of their carapace in the Galápagos archipelago. Several of these subspecies can be seen in the Center. One of them, represented by Lonesome George, is a living celebrity. He is the last living tortoise from the island of Pinta. Huge efforts have been made to try to breed good old George with giant tortoises that are genetically similar to him. The goal is to preserve his precious genetic heritage. We are still waiting, with anxiety, to see what will happen with the eggs that a couple females laid in the pen they shared with George in recent months. This event is, by itself, a great success! Perhaps one day in the future we will have the joy to announce the return of George’s offspring to Pinta Island.
Later in the morning, around midday, we left the town behind and traveled by bus inland. We went up into the cooler, moist highlands of Santa Cruz. We had lunch at “Altair” a colorful restaurant that is surrounded by flowering plants. Afterwards we drove even higher on the island in search of Galápagos Giant Tortoises in the wild. The lush green landscapes seen here are very different from anything we have seen so far on this expedition. A short walk led us to find some majestic tortoises that were happily munching away the green vegetation of the surroundings. We all were delighted by the proximity and ecological naiveté of the antediluvian-looking reptiles.
After spending most of the day away from the ship, we reluctantly returned to town to come back on board the National Geographic Polaris. It is certainly amazing to realize that we spent such a valuable time among one of the world’s most extraordinary animal species, the Galápagos Giant Tortoise.
