![]() hopkinsii (Asteraceae) and Opuntia galapageia var. Galápagos Conservancy has launched an urgent appeal at /savethefernandinatortoise to raise funds to undertake the expedition to find these and perhaps other tortoises to save this species from the brink of extinction.Data on vegetational changes on Pinta Island, Galápagos, collected during the period 1970–1988, show that feral goats have had a destructive impact on the vegetation. Park rangers have found signs (tracks and scat) of at least two other tortoises on Fernandina Volcano during the searches that resulted in the discovery of the lone female. The current population of Giant Tortoises throughout the Islands is only 10-15% of its historical numbers, estimated between 200,000-300,000 individuals.īut there is hope. While populations of Giant Tortoises were decimated throughout the Galápagos archipelago in the 19th century due to exploitation by whalers and buccaneers, the Fernandina Giant Tortoise species was believed to be extinct due to volcanic eruptions in past centuries. Prior to the 2019 discovery, only one specimen of the Fernandina Giant Tortoise had ever been found - a male collected during the California Academy of Sciences expedition in 1905-06. Scientists would then oversee breeding efforts, rear any young safely in captivity, and eventually return them to safe habitats on their native island of Fernandina. ![]() If a male tortoise is located on the volcanic terrain, he will be united with the lone female at the Galápagos National Park’s Giant Tortoise Breeding Center in Santa Cruz. “My team from the Park and Galápagos Conservancy are planning a series of major expeditions to return to Fernandina Island to search for additional tortoises beginning this September.”įernandina Island’s landscape is dominated by an active volcano that makes expeditions very challenging. “We desperately want to avoid the fate of Lonesome George,” said Danny Rueda Córdova, Director of the Galápagos National Park Directorate. James Gibbs, Vice President of Science and Conservation for the Galápagos Conservancy and tortoise expert at the State University of New York. We now urgently need to complete the search of the island to find other tortoises,” said Dr. Rediscovering this lost species may have occurred just in the nick of time to save it. “One of the greatest mysteries in Galápagos has been the Fernandina Island Giant Tortoise. These findings verify what researchers at Galápagos Conservancy and GNPD had long hoped for. Nicknamed “Fernanda” by her discoverers, genetic analysis has now confirmed that she is related to the Chelonoidis phantasticus tortoise species native to the island. Gisella Caccone sought to uncover the genetic origin of the female tortoise and determine how closely it matched the only other tortoise ever found on Fernandina Island, a now-deceased large male found in 1906. However, to verify their assumption, a blood sample was sent to geneticists at Yale, where a team led by Dr. “Fernanda,” the female tortoise found on Fernandina Island in 2019.Īt the time of discovery, the GNPD and Galápagos Conservancy team was confident that the female Giant Tortoise was the lost Fernandina Giant Tortoise. To avoid the same tragic fate as Lonesome George – the last Pinta Giant Tortoise who died in 2012 – an urgent expedition to Fernandina Island will be launched by GNPD and Galápagos Conservancy to find a mate and save the species. The female Giant Tortoise was found during a 2019 joint expedition of Galápagos Conservancy, the Galápagos National Park Directorate (GNPD), and Animal Planet host Forrest Galante. ![]() Scientists at Yale University have confirmed genetic similarity between a lone female Giant Tortoise recently discovered on Fernandina Island and the Fernandina Giant Tortoise ( Chelonoidis phantasticus), last reported 112 years ago and long considered lost forever. Urgent expeditions will be launched to find mate and save species.
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