Frontiers Note: Lara MacDonald is from the Frontiers UK office. She shares her spectacular experience during a recent trip to the Galápagos Islands. This is part six in the series.
Today we reached the second largest island in the archipelago, Santa Cruz and one of only four Galápagos islands that are inhabited. The main town, Puerto Ayora, is the largest city in the Galápagos with some 22,000 inhabitants (only a total of 30,000 live in the islands) and is the economic hub of the archipelago.
We started the day by landing at Puerto Ayora’s dock and taking a short bus ride to the entrance of the Galápagos National Park Service and then walked the short distance (through a cactus forest, the majestic giant candelabra cactus and prickly pear trees providing the only shade) to the Charles Darwin Research Station where more than 200 scientists and volunteers from all over the world are involved with research and conservation efforts to maintain and improve the environment and biodiversity in the Galápagos, the most well-known of which involves a captive breeding programme for giant tortoises.
The Fausto Llerena Tortoise Breeding & Rearing Centre, was initially set up to save the giant tortoise population on the island of Pinzón. It was quickly expanded to include other populations, in particular that of Española where only 14 individuals remained. More than 4,000 young tortoises from eight different populations have since been repatriated to their island of origin, with nearly 1,500 going back to Española.
Eggs are collected from the islands and brought to the breeding centre where they are labelled, weighed and registered. The incubation period lasts from 90 to 120 days and during this time the temperature has to be kept constant. Too hot or too cold and the eggs won’t hatch. Hatching takes 2-6 days and the newly-hatched tortoises are transferred to a dark box where they feed on their yolk sac for 30 days replicating the month that the hatchlings remain in their underground nest in the wild before digging an exit hole and emerging. They are then transferred to outdoor pens where they are regularly monitored. The aim is for them to be released back into the wild on their island of origin.
They have 1,300 tortoises in the centre aged between 0-8 years and during our visit we saw tortoises at all stages of growth from unhatched eggs to juveniles and full-grown adults. I found it very interesting and encouraging to see the important work that is being done here to repopulate the ecosystem with giant tortoises thereby preventing the extinction of various species that inhabit the archipelago.
The timing of our visit was fortuitous as the special climate-controlled building designed and constructed to preserve the taxidermy of the iconic giant Pinta tortoise, Lonesome George, had just been opened. Here we learned about his sad but moving story. By the early 20th century, the Pinta Island tortoise had been considered extinct in the wild. But in 1971, a Hungarian scientist discovered a male who would come to be known as Lonesome George.
The following year, the tortoise was taken to the Charles Darwin Research Station to protect him as he was the last remaining survivor of his species. Hoping he would reproduce, an unsuccessful global search began for a Pinta female. He became a global conservation icon but unfortunately Lonesome George died in June 2012 at nearly 100 years old, without reproducing. It is believed that the taxidermy of this beloved tortoise will serve as a symbol of hope. In fact a group of researchers from Yale University have recently discovered hybrid tortoises on Isabela Island with genes from the extinct Pinta and Floreana species. These hybrid tortoises offer hope of returning tortoises to Pinta with a high percentage of Pinta genes. A programme is now underway at the Fausto Llerena Giant Tortoise Breeding & Rearing Centre to back-breed these two species and return them to their native islands.
We had time to explore Puerto Ayora on our own (visiting the fish market, browsing through the many souvenir shops, etc.) before gathering at the Rock Café for refreshments. We boarded buses to head into the lush, cool highlands stopping at at El Trapiche, a traditional sugar cane mill where we learned about the way of life of the early settlers in the archipelago who lived mainly off agriculture: sugar cane, coffee, chocolate, cheese and fishing before tourism became the main economy.
We enjoyed a delicious chicken lunch at Aquelarre, a converted old house surrounded by lush vegetation, before continuing by bus to see tortoises in their natural habitat having seem them in captivity in the morning. We visited Reserva El Chato II, the property of a native Galapagueno in the heart of the giant tortoise migratory route. My group witnessed a fight breaking out between two males which apparently usually occurs over mates or food. The two male tortoises faced each other, opened their mouths and stretched their heads as high as they could. Whoever reaches the highest wins. The shorter male then turned and ran away, ending the battle.
We returned to Puerto Ayora late afternoon and had the option of spending a little more time shopping or returning directly to the ship.
In the evening there was a cocktail hour during which we were treated to the amazing underwater footage that Jason had taken during my three deep sea snorkeling trips with him. This was followed by a short presentation by a guest scientist from the Charles Darwin Research Station who explained the importance of the work they do towards the conservation of the archipelago.
There was a little after dinner entertainment in the lounge by visiting musicians and dancers which was fun.
Video courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions.