Quito (EFE).- A total of 86 tortoises bred in captivity and that are part of a remnant of hatchlings from the Captive Breeding Program that closed in 2021, returned to their natural habitat in the Ecuadorian archipelago of Galapagos.
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition reported this Monday that there are still more than 250 to complete their process prior to their release.
The Directorate of the Galapagos National Park (DPNG), together with the organization Galapagos Conservancy, released the 86 hatchlings of the species Chelonidis hoodensis from Española Island, aged between 5 and 6 years.
The specimens come from the captive breeding and breeding center on Santa Cruz Island, the main and most central island of the archipelago.
These turtles are part of the captive breeding program of the species on the Española Island.
And they have already reached the conditions of ideal measures to be incorporated into the island’s ecosystem safely, says the Ministry.
Quarantine
Prior to their repatriation, the turtles are subjected to an extended quarantine process, internal and external deworming, and an identification microchip.
Later they are transferred by helicopter to the southern center of the Spanish Island, with the purpose of accelerating their dispersal throughout their territory.
“The conservation efforts implemented by the national government, in synergy with our strategic allies, have been essential to carry out successful ecological restoration programs like this one, which has been a work of more than five decades,” said Danny Rueda, director of the Galapagos National Park.
This captive breeding program “gives peace of mind” that it has managed to “save a species that otherwise would have become extinct.”
Ecological restoration
For his part, Washington Tapia, executive director of the Galapagos Conservancy, indicated that the repopulation of Española with tortoises has been:
“A key element in the ecological restoration process of the island, because they are the main herbivore and contribute to clearing the areas where the albatrosses land when they come to the island to breed and nest.”
He notes that, although the turtle breeding program on this island was closed in June 2021, some 267 hatchlings remained in captivity until they were of the appropriate age for repatriation.
The group of tortoises that still do not meet the conditions to survive on their own will be kept at the Fausto Llerena breeding center.
famous specimen
The famous “Diego” belonged to this program, the male turtle that was recovered from the San Diego Zoo (United States).
It became a symbol of Galapagos conservation, as it is estimated that approximately 40% of repatriated tortoises are its descendants.
The Galapagos archipelago is located about a thousand kilometers west of the mainland coast of Ecuador.
Thanks to its rich biodiversity, it is considered a natural laboratory that allowed the British scientist Charles Darwin to develop his theory on the evolution and natural selection of species.
In 1978 UNESCO declared the islands as Natural Patrimony of Humanity.