Santa Cruz Island
We are experiencing a very exciting time of the year in Galápagos. We are immersed in the wet-warm season. In the morning we visited the world renowned Charles Darwin Research Station. This is a very interesting place where we can appreciate the different conservation programs that are being carried out in order to protect the fragile ecosystems of the Galápagos Islands. One of the most important programs is the breeding program of Galápagos giant tortoises. These majestic reptiles have a very sad story; thousands of them were killed by pirates, whalers and sealers. Due to this indiscriminate exploitation, some races were brought near to extinction. Fortunately, a few tortoises were left on several islands. Some populations of tortoises had very few individuals left therefore it was very important to help them in some way. One race that was in critical state was the one found on Espanola Island. Fifteen of them live in the Darwin Station. These animals reproduce successfully and lay eggs in appropriate places that were built for them. Later the eggs are incubated artificially in order to increase the hatching success and after four months of incubation the little tortoises hatch. The whole breeding program has been a real triumph for conservation; so far over 3000 tortoises have been repatriated to the different islands.
The Charles Darwin Station along with the Galápagos National Park is doing a wonderful job, working together all the time for one common goal that is the conservation of the Galápagos Islands.
We are experiencing a very exciting time of the year in Galápagos. We are immersed in the wet-warm season. In the morning we visited the world renowned Charles Darwin Research Station. This is a very interesting place where we can appreciate the different conservation programs that are being carried out in order to protect the fragile ecosystems of the Galápagos Islands. One of the most important programs is the breeding program of Galápagos giant tortoises. These majestic reptiles have a very sad story; thousands of them were killed by pirates, whalers and sealers. Due to this indiscriminate exploitation, some races were brought near to extinction. Fortunately, a few tortoises were left on several islands. Some populations of tortoises had very few individuals left therefore it was very important to help them in some way. One race that was in critical state was the one found on Espanola Island. Fifteen of them live in the Darwin Station. These animals reproduce successfully and lay eggs in appropriate places that were built for them. Later the eggs are incubated artificially in order to increase the hatching success and after four months of incubation the little tortoises hatch. The whole breeding program has been a real triumph for conservation; so far over 3000 tortoises have been repatriated to the different islands.
The Charles Darwin Station along with the Galápagos National Park is doing a wonderful job, working together all the time for one common goal that is the conservation of the Galápagos Islands.
