Several Darwin’s finches moved from tree to tree, maybe looking for a mate or food. The cacti, Opuntia’s of different sizes, made an interesting walkway on our path to see the gentle giants.
The Charles Darwin Research Station and the National Park Service have the Breeding Centre, though which the two have worked as partners to save the giant tortoises of the Galapagos from going extinct. By saving the tortoises they have saved almost all reptiles. This is the reason why the Galapagos National Park Service, together with the Charles Darwin Foundation are among the most respected conservation institutions in the world.
The program started back in the 1960s with the Española sub species. Numbers were going down due to the presence of introduced goats and donkeys to the islands. The mammals forage the vegetation leaving the tortoises not only without food but also without shelter. After years of research and hard work the programs have been a 100% success. Today over 3000 young tortoises have been repatriated to their islands of origin and are now reproducing in the wild without human intervention.
This afternoon tortoises in the wild kept our groups excited and busy. It was amazing to see them in their natural habitat. Photographers took the pictures they have come to the islands to take. A bit of drizzle made the scene very dramatic, walking with these incredible friendly creatures made us feel transported in time to maybe a hundred years ago, when the tortoises roamed the islands by themselves…
