Giant Tortoises Reintroduced to a Galapagos Island
More than 150 giant tortoises have been reintroduced to in Ecuador’s famed Galapagos archipelago where they disappeared more than a century ago, the environment ministry said Friday. Park rangers carried large crates containing the 158 tortoises on their backs, hiking seven kilometers (four miles) across volcanic terrain and hard-to-access areas before releasing them, the ministry said in a statement. “For the first time in over a century, Floreana is once again home to giant tortoises, a species that plays a strategic role as ecosystem engineers: seed dispersers, vegetation regulators, and promoters of natural habitat regeneration,” it said. The Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site, are situated some 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador. They are famous for their unique flora and fauna and are where British scientist Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution. An NGO, Island Conservation, said it was the first time that giant tortoises have walked on Floreana since t...