People thought that a rare giant tortoise had died out on the Galápagos Islands for more than 100 years. But now, officials say they’ve found a way to do it.
Check out this all black Galapagos turtle hatching at the Three Jays Tortoise Sanctuary in the state of Florida.
Megan says that the green paint on his carapace (top shell) shows which clutch this baby came from, which is why it looks that way. It’s an endangered Galapagos tortoise, and the sanctuary has bred a lot of them for conservation. This one is one of them.
A rare Galápagos tortoise hasn’t been seen in 100 years, so it was thought to be almost extinct. But now, it has been found.
People thought that a rare giant tortoise had died out on the Galápagos Islands for more than 100 years. But now, officials say they’ve found a way to do it. One of the more than a dozen islands in the famous archipelago, Fernandina Island, is the only place you can find this species. Charles Darwin used the islands to help him come up with his theory of evolution in the 1800s.
Officials from the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative, which is a collaboration between the Galápagos National Park Directorate and the Galápagos Conservancy, a U.S. non-profit that works to protect the islands, said they found the tortoise Sunday.
People found the animal in good health, but it was very thin. It was taken to a breeding center on Santa Cruz Island. Genetic tests will be done to make sure that the tortoise is of the kind that only lives in Fernandina, the environment ministry said.
People who work for the Galápagos National Park say that this makes them want to keep looking for more turtles, which will allow them to start a breeding program in captivity to save this species.
There have been signs that the species may still be alive since 1906, which gives researchers hope.
