THE GALAPAGOS TORTOISE

The Galapogos Islands get their name from one of their most peculiar residents."Galapagos" is the Spanish word for Tortoise and those found on these islands are larger than any found elsewhere. There were no large predators on the islands before the arrival of man and the tortoises could grow to immense size without fear of being eaten. Sadly with the arrival of man these beautiful, ponderous beasts were seen as a magnificent food source and a number of the races of this unique beast were hunted to extinction. The Pinta Island race has only one male tortoise left.

Life Cycle The female tortoise digs a hole in the ground and lays up to 20 leathery eggs each the size of a tennis ball. She then covers the nest and leaves. The eggs take 4-8 months to hatch and the young tortoises then have to fend for themselves. They take 20 to 30 years to reach maturity and can reach up to 500 Pounds in weight. They feed on a wide variety of plants such as cactuses and fruit. A Galapagos Tortoise may live as long as 200 years!

Races There are 11 distinct races of the Galapagos Tortoise still in existence but only 3 of these are reproducing at a rate that means they will survive in the long term.

Threats The Galapagos Tortoise had no natural enemies but Rats, Dogs, Pigs and Goats have been introduced onto their islands. These are destroying the habitat and eating the young and the eggs. Efforts are now underway to eliminate these foreign invaders from the islands and captive breeding is underway to try to restore the populations of the endangered races.

The Galapagos Islands were made famous by the studies of the great British Naturalist Charles Darwin published in his book The Voyage of the Beagle