180 years after disappearing, a tortoise returns to its Galapagos home
The release of 158 specially bred Floriana giant tortoises is a win for both the animal and its long-lost island ecosystem.
One of the Floriana hybrid tortoises released on Floriana Island, part of the Galapagos.
The Galapagos Islands are famous for their biodiversity, especially their giant tortoises. But about 180 years ago the island of Floriana lost its unique tortoise, the Floriana giant tortoise (Chelonoidis Niger Niger), a subspecies of the Galapagos giant tortoise. After becoming a victim of sailors, pirates, and the arrival of many invasive species, it was considered extinct.
However, in 2000, scientists made a startling discovery: a population of tortoises 70 miles away on Isabela Island looked a lot like the Floriana giant tortoise with its telltale saddle-shaped shells. Genetic testing confirmed that these were hybrid tortoises descended from Floriana giant tortoises that may have accidentally arrived on the island after being placed on a ship for food.
Now, for the first time in nearly 200 years, the Floreana tortoises have returned to Floreana Island, following their release last week. 158 individuals were raised in a special captive breeding program.
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Floriana turtles were released back to their native island.
“It was incredibly emotional to see the tortoises step onto Floriana and begin exploring,” says James Gibbs, vice president of science and conservation for the nonprofit Galapagos Conservancy. “It felt like the end of a 26-year effort but at the same time, it was a beginning.”
In a carefully managed breeding program, Gibbs and colleagues paired adults collected from Isabella Island based on genetic testing to maximize the Floriana lineage of their offspring. Gibbs says that although the resulting animals are not exact genetic replicas of their ancestors, they contain much of the original Floriana lineage.
Galapagos Conservancy staff and Galapagos National Park rangers hike across the landscape, placing tortoises in boxes and transporting them to strategically selected release sites.
Gibbs says that in addition to being a win for the animals, the turtle’s return will also be a boon for the island. The Galapagos tortoise is a keystone species, spreading seeds and helping forests regenerate, so hopefully its return will begin to push the island more closely towards its original ecological state.
“Any time you can return ‘ecosystem engineers’ like giant tortoises to an environment where they once roamed, we expect good things to happen,” says Rick Hudson, president emeritus of the nonprofit Turtle Survival Alliance, who was not involved in the research. For example, after Aldabra tortoises were reintroduced to Mauritius, native plants retreated and vegetation decreased. “Over time, the habitat begins to resemble its former state,” says Hudson. “We expect similar results on Floriana.”
“The island’s ecosystem and evolutionary lineage is reshaping, and the biological processes that shaped Floriana are coming back,” says Gibbs. “It’s a powerful reminder that sometimes what’s lost forever is just waiting for the chance to come back.”
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