There are two Tortoise Centers in Galápagos, all managed by the Galápagos National Park Directorate with the support of Galápagos Conservancy. In May 2010, 39 hybrid adult tortoises were sterilized and then released onto Pinta Island to act as ecosystem engineers during the vegetation recovery period following goat eradication.The first of nearly 2,000 juvenile tortoises returned to Española Island reached sexual maturity and have been reproducing naturally on the island since the early 1990s.As of the end of 2017, more than 7,000 juvenile tortoises had been returned to their island of origin – including Española, Isabela, Pinzón, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, and Santiago.The fifteenth species, from Santa Fe Island, went extinct in the mid-1800s as there is no complete museum specimen, only pieces, the species was never officially described or named. In the case of the Fernandina tortoise, it is probably extinct but anecdotal information suggests that a few individuals may remain. According to the IUCN Red List, six are considered Critically Endangered, three Endangered, three Vulnerable, and two Extinct. Introduced species (primarily rats, pigs, dogs, and the Solenopsis ant) prey on tortoises (particularly eggs and hatchling tortoises) others (goats, cattle, donkeys, and invasive plants) damage or destroy tortoise habitat.Ī total of 15 tortoise species have been identified. Today, limited poaching of tortoises still occurs in some areas. Humans, primarily buccaneers and whalers, exploited them as a food source during the 18th and 19th centuries. Giant tortoise species, along with the endemic rice rats, were the most historically decimated species in the Galápagos Islands.
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