Santa Cruz Island
At first glance, the landscape seems strewn with giant boulders even though these are actually living creatures. Today we are on Santa Cruz Island and have ventured into the highlands in search of the Galápagos giant tortoise. We found forty-five! Each of their shells with its scrapes and bumps seems to tell a hundred stories. Stories I would like to hear to learn more about the history of these beautiful islands. Stories, which unfortunately at times, have involved the exploitation of these magnificent animals.
I have heard people say that the Galápagos Islands are a land lost in time. I generally abstain from this description because the plants and animals that evolved here are as modern as we are. The ecosystems on these islands are not stationary and the organisms inhabiting this place continue to adapt and change. But, watching these majestic creatures, the word “time”, or the lack there of, seems a necessary part of the description. The tortoises continue their business of grazing the lush vegetation while we share the moment. Despite the fact that these individuals may weigh over 500 pounds, if I could use one word to describe them, I might choose the word “gentle”.
Prior to our expedition to find tortoises, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora. Here we learned about the efforts the Galápagos National Park Service is doing to restore tortoise populations through captive breeding and “head-starting” the young. The program has successfully repatriated over 1,400 tortoises to the Island of Española. Also at the station, we met the world’s most famous reptile, Lonesome George. George is the last of the Pinta Island tortoises (as far as we know). What will it take to save the Pinta Island tortoise? The tortoises are only who they are because of the environment in which they have evolved, so saving George is really a matter of saving Pinta Island. Fortunately, valiant efforts have been taken to remove the invasive species from the Island of Pinta. Now the island just needs its original large herbivore to fully recover. The Park Service is considering placing George’s closest relatives, tortoises from Española, to act as surrogates for the Pinta tortoises and to rejuvenate the Pinta Island ecosystem.
Efforts like these exemplify the powerful role that humans have in the future of the Galápagos. With 95% of the archipelago protected by the National Park system, these remarkable islands will continue to provide a landscape for some of the world’s most extraordinary creatures. I would like to think that one of the stories the giant tortoises will tell to a future generation is how we came here to visit today, and that they might describe us as “gentle”, too.
At first glance, the landscape seems strewn with giant boulders even though these are actually living creatures. Today we are on Santa Cruz Island and have ventured into the highlands in search of the Galápagos giant tortoise. We found forty-five! Each of their shells with its scrapes and bumps seems to tell a hundred stories. Stories I would like to hear to learn more about the history of these beautiful islands. Stories, which unfortunately at times, have involved the exploitation of these magnificent animals.
I have heard people say that the Galápagos Islands are a land lost in time. I generally abstain from this description because the plants and animals that evolved here are as modern as we are. The ecosystems on these islands are not stationary and the organisms inhabiting this place continue to adapt and change. But, watching these majestic creatures, the word “time”, or the lack there of, seems a necessary part of the description. The tortoises continue their business of grazing the lush vegetation while we share the moment. Despite the fact that these individuals may weigh over 500 pounds, if I could use one word to describe them, I might choose the word “gentle”.
Prior to our expedition to find tortoises, we visited the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora. Here we learned about the efforts the Galápagos National Park Service is doing to restore tortoise populations through captive breeding and “head-starting” the young. The program has successfully repatriated over 1,400 tortoises to the Island of Española. Also at the station, we met the world’s most famous reptile, Lonesome George. George is the last of the Pinta Island tortoises (as far as we know). What will it take to save the Pinta Island tortoise? The tortoises are only who they are because of the environment in which they have evolved, so saving George is really a matter of saving Pinta Island. Fortunately, valiant efforts have been taken to remove the invasive species from the Island of Pinta. Now the island just needs its original large herbivore to fully recover. The Park Service is considering placing George’s closest relatives, tortoises from Española, to act as surrogates for the Pinta tortoises and to rejuvenate the Pinta Island ecosystem.
Efforts like these exemplify the powerful role that humans have in the future of the Galápagos. With 95% of the archipelago protected by the National Park system, these remarkable islands will continue to provide a landscape for some of the world’s most extraordinary creatures. I would like to think that one of the stories the giant tortoises will tell to a future generation is how we came here to visit today, and that they might describe us as “gentle”, too.
