Santa Cruz is the home of the largest giant tortoises that inhabit this archipelago. It should be one of the most interesting sites of the week since these beautiful creatures are what have given the islands their name.
The breeding center, operated by the Charles Darwin Research Station and the National Park Service, is the place where the giant tortoises have been saved from going extinct. The two institutions are within the best known conservation institutions of the world, and by saving the tortoises they have basically saved most reptiles.
The program goes back to the 1960’s, where it started with the Española sub species. Their numbers were going down due to the presence of introduced mammals such as goats and donkeys who will forage the vegetation, leaving the tortoises not only without food but also without shelter. The remaining population of the island were transported to the breeding center where researchers manipulating the temperature of incubation are able to produce more females. These females, when reaching adulthood, will be the ones nesting. Today over 2,000 young tortoises have been repatriated to their island of origin and are now reproducing without human intervention.
As we walked around the Charles Darwin Research Station, several species of Darwin’s finches hopped from tree to tree, looking for food or maybe for a mate. It was interesting to see because we could compare their beaks and talk about their differences. The cacti, or Opuntias, of different sizes were also pretty interesting, and it was just wonderful to see how the reptiles were patiently waiting for the pads to fall to the ground so they could get their water!
In the afternoon the tortoises in the wild kept our groups excited and busy. It was incredible to see them in their natural habitat, and the photographers took the pictures they have come to the islands for. The rest of us kept walking around, as a bit of drizzle made the scene very dramatic. These incredible, friendly creatures made us feel transported back in time, to maybe a hundred years ago - when the tortoises roamed the islands by themselves.
