Santa Cruz Island, Charles Darwin Research Station
Our visit today to the tortoise enclosures managed by the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park was made very special by a gift from staff member Fausto Llerena to our youngest guest, Ben Bergstrom. The gift, a small, carved, wooden tortoise was hand crafted by Fausto, who perhaps more than anyone else in the Station, holds the tortoise-raising program close to his heart. He has watched several thousand hatchling tortoises from many different islands grow to an acceptable size before being repatriated to their native islands. He has cared for them, fed them, and released them. In giving the wooden tortoise to Ben, he demonstrated his enthusiasm for the National Park and his eagerness to pass on an appreciation for nature to all children that visit the archipelago.
Our visit consisted of following the cinder path, boardwalk and lava rocks around the various corrals. We saw giant tortoises the size of half a baseball (so much for “giant” at this stage) from Española, Santiago and other islands, and continued on to the enormous guys. Everyone had time to wonder, admire, remark, photograph, and ooh and ahhhh over these living creatures whose ancestors once walked with slow dignity over just about every continent on the face of the earth. Now there are few left, but here in Galapagos we can say with assurance that they will still be around for a long time to come, perhaps they will even increase in number. Knowing that there are people like Fausto Llerena and kids like Ben looking out for their well being, gives us the assurance that our tortoises, at least, will survive for a long time to come.
Our visit today to the tortoise enclosures managed by the Charles Darwin Research Station and the Galapagos National Park was made very special by a gift from staff member Fausto Llerena to our youngest guest, Ben Bergstrom. The gift, a small, carved, wooden tortoise was hand crafted by Fausto, who perhaps more than anyone else in the Station, holds the tortoise-raising program close to his heart. He has watched several thousand hatchling tortoises from many different islands grow to an acceptable size before being repatriated to their native islands. He has cared for them, fed them, and released them. In giving the wooden tortoise to Ben, he demonstrated his enthusiasm for the National Park and his eagerness to pass on an appreciation for nature to all children that visit the archipelago.
Our visit consisted of following the cinder path, boardwalk and lava rocks around the various corrals. We saw giant tortoises the size of half a baseball (so much for “giant” at this stage) from Española, Santiago and other islands, and continued on to the enormous guys. Everyone had time to wonder, admire, remark, photograph, and ooh and ahhhh over these living creatures whose ancestors once walked with slow dignity over just about every continent on the face of the earth. Now there are few left, but here in Galapagos we can say with assurance that they will still be around for a long time to come, perhaps they will even increase in number. Knowing that there are people like Fausto Llerena and kids like Ben looking out for their well being, gives us the assurance that our tortoises, at least, will survive for a long time to come.
