The Birth Of Baby Tortoises, A Species That Was Nearly Extinct, On Galapagos Island After A Century Brings Hope

Dec 17, 2018

Pinzon Island is part of the Galapagos Islands. Recently, there were baby tortoise sightings on the island for the first time in a century.

Human activity nearly caused the animals to become extinct but with the new births, there is also renewed hope for the species. James Gibbs is a researcher who was one of the first people to view the hatchlings. Gibbs says he is both amazed and thankful for the opportunity humans now have to right the wrong they committed in the past.

Sailors first landed on Pinzon Island in the middle of the eighteenth century. Unbeknownst to them, their arrival set off a catastrophe for the island's environment that is only just now correcting itself. Rats that had been transported by the ships found their way onto the island and ate both the new hatchlings and eggs of baby tortoises. Prior to this time, there was no predator on the island for the tortoises.

The devastation was so complete that not one offspring of the tortoises survived the onslaught of the rats. But just as it was humans that began the horrible chain of events, it is now the work of humans that might prove capable of saving the tortoises.

Only 100 tortoises remained by 1960. Conservationists began efforts to save the species from total extinction. They first searched the island for all the eggs that could be saved. The conservationist then took the eggs to another island for incubation. There the baby tortoises were hatched and raised for the first five years of their lives. Once they were large enough to avoid attacks they were set free on Pinzon Island. However, new eggs still did not stand a chance against the rats.

In 2012, scientists came up with a way to combat the rats on Pinzon Island. In a first of its kind operation, poison was dropped by helicopters that would attract and affect only the rats on the island.

The good news is that ten tortoise hatchlings were found on the island in December. The belief by scientists is these ten hatchlings are only the beginning. Scientists project that possibly hundreds of tortoise eggs are located on the island.

What do you think about the tortoises on Pinzon Island? Did you smile when learning of the ten eggs? Tell us in the comments and pass this story on to other animal loving friends. It is sure to put a smile on their faces.