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The Galapagos Islands 

The Galapagos Islands is home to some of the most amazing animal species. Twenty percent of the marine life in the Galapagos are found nowhere else on earth.  Birds, reptiles and some land animals are all endemic. The Galapagos islands is a dream destination for many nature lovers.   

Endemic -  (of a plant or animal) native or restricted to a certain country or area. 

                      

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 Galapagos Islands are named that way because of these tortoises. When the first Spanish sailors arrived to the island, they spotted large  number of tortoises. Since tortoise is called "Galapago" in Spanish, the  whole island is named Galapagos Island.       

The Galapagos islands is home to the giant Galapagos tortoise.  This amazing animal and can literally live without food or water for up to one year.  The female tortoise can travel long distances to find a suitable place to lay her eggs. When a suitable place is found, the female lays up to 16 eggs and the eggs hatch anything between 4 to 8 months.  No parental care is provided and the young babies are left to fend for themselves.  Because of the enormous amount of predators very few of the hatchlings survive to grow up into adult tortoises.   These tortoises can live up to a 100 years and only become sexually mature at the age of 25 years.  

Ever heard of lonesome George? 

Lonely George was a giant tortoise from the island of Pinta.  The island of Pinta is in the Northern regions of the Galapagos Archipelago.  Lonesome George is considered one of the rarest creatures in the world, and he became a conservation icon.  Lonesome George was born approximately in 1910.  Pinta tortoises were over-exploited and this tortoise species was thought to be extinct in early 20th century, but in 1971 József Vágvölgyi, a Hungarian scientist that studied snails on Pinta island, saw a tortoise on the island.     

Conservationists hoped to find a female tortoise to be a breeding partner for lonesome George, and after an extensive search eventually had to give up. On Sunday, June 24th, 2012, Lonesome George was found dead.  He was the last surviving Pinta Island tortoise.   It is believed that he was over 100 years old. 

His species is now extinct.  

Extinct -  no longer in existence. 

 “Whatever happens to this single animal,  let him always remind us that the fate of all living things on Earth is in human hands.”

Galapagos is a very interesting and exciting island open for exploration.  There are many conservationist projects on this island, and you can be part of this.  If you are a nature lover and interested in conservation of specific species, you can click on this link and book a working holiday.  Please read more about this in the link provided.  Read more about the ongoing conservationist project here. 

Please watch these videos and experience the beauty of this beautiful island.  

 

 

If you want to read more please follow these links. 

http://www.galapagos.org/about_galapagos/about-galapagos/lonesome-george/  

http://www.projects-abroad.co.uk/volunteer-projects/conservation-and-environment/galapagos-island-conservation/volunteer-ecuador/

http://www.galapagos.org/blog/2017-conservation-in-galapagos/

http://www.galapagos.org/newsroom/lonesome-george-returns-to-galapagos/                            

                                      

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