Nature & Environment

Giant tortoises make 'miraculous' recovery

By T.K. Randall
October 29, 2014 ·  14 comments

The late Lonesome George. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Arturo de Frias Marques Two years ago the last of the Pinta Island tortoises, Lonesome George, passed away leaving a poignant reminder of the damage done by mankind to the remote Galapagos Islands.

Since then however there been a much needed success story thanks to the tireless efforts of conservationists who have succeeded in bringing one of the islands' other endangered subspecies of giant tortoise back from the brink.In the 1960s there were only 15 Espanola giant tortoises left, but now following 40 years of work reintroducing captive individuals there is now a healthy, breeding population of more than 1,000.

"Reintroducing these large, keystone species, in combination with reducing the spread of invasive species, can really help return ecosystems to native state," said ecologist Dr Rebecca Scott.

"This work highlights the merit of well-managed reintroduction programmes, but also of really monitoring how these animals do."

Source: BBC News | Comments (14)

Tags: Giant Tortoises, Galapagos Islands