Santa Cruz Island
The Charles Darwin Research Station works hand-in-hand with the Galápagos National Park Service in a multitude of projects. Today was spent with our focus on the famous giant tortoises of the archipelago. In particular, here in Puerto Ayora the tortoises from the central and southeastern islands are bred in captivity, kept under a tight watch for the first few years, then released back to their islands of origin. After the first year or two, they are placed out of their shallow enclosures and onto the rough, rocky, lava-strewn ground to learn their way over and around the obstacles they can expect to encounter when finally in the wild.
Today we watched a feeding frenzy of small, almost toy-like tortoises as they clambered over and around each other, taking tiny bites of the leaves. Determined little things, it was hard to imagine them the size of their adult compatriots in nearby corrals.
Even Lonesome George came out of his normal lethargy to defend some greenery, chase a female for a few steps, then get distracted once more by his food. The two females had an altercation over some leaves, and we got to watch as they stretched those long necks and legs typical of saddle-back tortoises, open their mouths lined in bright yellow, stand on their tippy-toes to get higher, and finally the loser ducked away in defeat; the prize was access to the dining platform.
The afternoon held its own rewards for everyone: mating giant tortoises were out in a large green pasture where they come and go at will, following the growth of vegetation which in turn is a result of the rains and “garua” mists of the season. They can range over the entire island during the year, but fortunately at this time they can be found within reach of access roads, so we were able to drive down and walk with little trouble to see them.
The Charles Darwin Research Station works hand-in-hand with the Galápagos National Park Service in a multitude of projects. Today was spent with our focus on the famous giant tortoises of the archipelago. In particular, here in Puerto Ayora the tortoises from the central and southeastern islands are bred in captivity, kept under a tight watch for the first few years, then released back to their islands of origin. After the first year or two, they are placed out of their shallow enclosures and onto the rough, rocky, lava-strewn ground to learn their way over and around the obstacles they can expect to encounter when finally in the wild.
Today we watched a feeding frenzy of small, almost toy-like tortoises as they clambered over and around each other, taking tiny bites of the leaves. Determined little things, it was hard to imagine them the size of their adult compatriots in nearby corrals.
Even Lonesome George came out of his normal lethargy to defend some greenery, chase a female for a few steps, then get distracted once more by his food. The two females had an altercation over some leaves, and we got to watch as they stretched those long necks and legs typical of saddle-back tortoises, open their mouths lined in bright yellow, stand on their tippy-toes to get higher, and finally the loser ducked away in defeat; the prize was access to the dining platform.
The afternoon held its own rewards for everyone: mating giant tortoises were out in a large green pasture where they come and go at will, following the growth of vegetation which in turn is a result of the rains and “garua” mists of the season. They can range over the entire island during the year, but fortunately at this time they can be found within reach of access roads, so we were able to drive down and walk with little trouble to see them.
