Giant Tortoise Reintroduced to Galápagos Island After Near-Extinction

A descendant of the island's original giant tortoise has been reintroduced to the Galápagos island of Floreana after its near-extinction in the 1840s.

The Floreana giant tortoise, known scientifically by the name Chelonoidis niger niger, once lived on the Galápagos island of Floreana before European settlers arrived in the 1800s. Upon arrival, the settlers brought various domesticated animals along with them, but their ships also contained feral cats and rats that posed a grave danger to populations of endemic species.

On top of this, settlers participating in whaling also posed a threat to the tortoises, which were stacked by the hundreds on whaling ships due to their ability to serve as a long-term food source.

Furthermore, the tortoise population was exploited by settlers as Europeans killed the unique species for meat and to make money off of their massive carapaces. Unfortunately, this occurred on many small islands across the world, leading to the extinction of hundreds of unique species in the 1800s during European colonization.

A tortoise population that once stood at a strong 20,000 quickly dwindled, and by the time Charles Darwin arrived in 1835, he confirmed in his diaries that their numbers had dropped significantly. The species was officially established as extinct by the year 1850.

However, hope for conservationists was restored when they discovered a species of hybrid tortoises living on the Wolf Volcano on the nearby Isabela Island in 2012. The Europeans exploiting the tortoises occasionally threw them overboard to save weight during emergencies, and some Floreana tortoises were also transported to nearby islands to ensure their safety for further exploitation.

Over 150 years later, scientists found that their species had bred with the local population of Chelonoidis becki, a separate endemic species, creating a small population of hybrids on Isabela Island.

In 2017, a "back breeding" program began on the island to attempt to restore the tortoises to their original purity, with selective breeding taking place in captivity.

Now, 158 juvenile hybrids have been released back into the ecosystem on Floreana Island, with their DNA ranging between a 40-80% match with the original tortoise. All of the tortoises are between the ages of 8 and 13, and they were specifically chosen from a group of hundreds more in order to allow the local ecosystem to begin the restoration process.

In total, at least 700 tortoises are planned to be reintroduced, helping conservationists restore the island as close as possible to its original state. While some invasive species cannot be removed, scientists and local officials are working to manage their populations, and the remaining endemic species are beginning to adapt to a changed ecosystem– with factors like climate change and sea level rise also playing a role.

The tortoises remain a key component in the full environmental restoration of Floreana Island, and the back breeding program that fostered their renewal is sure to serve as an example for conservationists and scientists working to restore extinct or endangered species around the world.

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Image credit to AFP