Story and photographs by Heide Brandes
On Santa Cruz Island, one of the 127 islands that make up Ecuador’s
Galápagos Islands archipelago, giants roamed the grassy highlands of a former cattle ranch.
Weighing as much as 660 pounds and living to as much as 200 years old, Galápagos giant tortoises with their massive shells dotted the landscape of the Rancho El Manzanillo tortoise ranch. They were everywhere, as plentiful as squirrels in a park in Oklahoma, but these gentle, slow creatures have been endangered and at risk for extinction since man discovered the islands in the 1500s.
Found only in the Galápagos Islands, Galápagos giant tortoises have had a tough run of it. In the 1500s, more than 250,000 of the creatures roamed peacefully in the archipelago, which later inspired Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution.
Overhunting by sailors in the 1500s and beyond dropped the tortoises’ number to a terrifyingly low 15,000, but through
aggressive conservation efforts, breeding programs, and strict protections, Galápagos tortoises are on the rebound. Still, only 11 species of Galápagos giant tortoises remain, four fewer than when Darwin
visited the islands. Today the tortoises live on seven islands of the archipelago, surviving against all odds through volcanic eruptions, fires, hunting, and predatory introduced species.
Efforts to save Galápagos tortoises aren’t limited to the islands themselves, however. Oklahoma plays a very big role in helping to ensure the future for the animals and for tortoises everywhere.
SAVING THE GENTLE GIANTS
I sailed as a hosted guest on the inaugural Hurtigruten Expeditions’ Galápagos Island small-ship cruise in January 2022 and saw firsthand the efforts and conservation programs that focus on not just tortoises but all the unique creatures of the Galápagos Islands. Aboard the MS Santa Cruz II, each of our excursions was led by an expert expedition team naturalist with Galápagos National Parks who explained the history and unique flora and fauna of the islands and the herculean ways in which the Ecuadoran government and world are working to save this Eden-like area.
Of the islands in the Galápagos archipelago, the most explored are the 13 larger islands, and only four are populated by people. The largest of the Galápagos Islands is Isabela, four times the size of the second-largest island, Santa Cruz, and home to a large population of Galápagos tortoises.
However, my first exposure to the Galápagos tortoise was at Cerro Colorado Tortoise Reserve on San Cristóbal Island. The reserve works to boost the numbers of these giant reptiles and save them from extinction through a breeding program. Tortoises roam in conditions similar to their natural habitat and thrive in the 15- acre forest, which is also home to dozens of other endemic species. Cerro Colorado, the only site where giant tortoises of San Cristóbal live in semicaptivity in a reintroduction project, uses natural breeding methods despite having incubators for eggs. Frankly, they don’t need to use them; the tortoises breed quite well on their own.
The purpose of the breeding center is to increase the survival rate of new hatchlings in the wild. Hatchlings are kept at the center for the first few years of life to protect them from predators before their reintroduction to the wild.
Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island is home to the Charles Darwin Research Station, where more than 200 scientists and volunteers work to conserve the wildlife of the Galápagos Islands. The research station also has a robust breeding program for Galápagos tortoises, and it reaches out with conservation efforts and research throughout the Galápagos archipelago.
The research station is part of the Galápagos Tortoise Movement Ecology
Tortoise or Turtle?
So in case you are wondering, what’s the difference between tortoises and turtles? Are the names interchangeable or are there real differences in the two reptiles?
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, all tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises. The biggest definer is that tortoises spend most of their time on land, and turtles spend most of their time in the water.
There are other notable differences between the two. Tortoises are herbivores, whereas turtles are mostly omnivores, eating plants and other animals. Tortoises have sturdier forelimbs that are not webbed, but turtles have webbed, flipperlike forearms to help them navigate through water.
Although tortoises and turtles both fall under the order of Testudines — animals with four limbs (tetrapods) that have a protective shell on their bodies — these two creatures are unique enough to earn separate names.
Program (GTMEP), which studies both the movement ecology and the health of these giants. GTMEP is a multi-institutional collaboration among the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Directorate, and the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine. Prior to the founding of GTMEP in 2009, very little was known about tortoise migrations, health, and diseases and the threats they face from human activities. “Here we’re going to find different species of giant tortoises — some from the island of Santa Cruz, some from the island of Santiago, some from the island of Española, some from the island of Floreana,” said Galápagos National Park naturalist David Guzmán, who was our tour guide on Hurtigruten Expeditions’ inaugural Galápagos cruise.
“The park rangers go to find the nest, they take out the eggs, and they bring them here to be incubated from the different islands. After they are incubated, the hatchlings stay in these training grounds for their first years of life before they’re transported back to their islands of origin,” Guzmán said. “The idea is to not make them dependent on humans because at some certain point, these tortoises here at the Darwin Center have to be released in the wild, even the ones that are being reproduced in captivity.”
One of the species the center breeds is the Floreana giant tortoise, which was believed to have become extinct in the 1800s because of overhunting by sailors and whalers.
Perhaps the most famous of the Galápagos giant tortoises was Lonesome George, the last of the Pinta Island tortoises. They were thought to have been extinct, but a scientist spotted the lonesome male. In 1972, Galápagos National Park rangers brought Lonesome George to the Charles Darwin Research Station with the hope that a female Pinta tortoise would eventually be found. However, no females were discovered, and Lonesome George died on June 24, 2012, effectively ending the existence of the Pinta Island tortoise.
In the highlands of Santa Cruz Island, our Hurtigruten group visited former ranches such as Rancho El Manzanillo. Once a farm, it is now a tortoise ranch where tourists can tour the grounds with a naturalist guide to see tortoises in their natural habitat.
For those who can’t go to the Galápagos Islands to support the conservation efforts, don’t worry. Opportunities closer to home are making a difference also.
OKC ZOO AND TULSA ZOO GET INVOLVED
In 2019, the Oklahoma City Zoo unveiled a $700,000 expansion to its Galápagos tortoise habitat in the former Secret Garden area of the Children’s Zoo that includes an indoor area and two outdoor spaces. The indoor habitat includes natural substrate floors, a nesting area, and an indoor pool for four Galápagos tortoises.
“Galápagos tortoises have been a favorite at the Oklahoma City Zoo since 1966. We are home to four Galápagos tortoises ranging from approximately 78 to 116 years old, including male Max and females Ellie, Isabela (Isa for short), and Mrs. B,” said Oklahoma City Zoo’s executive director and CEO Dwight Lawson. “Galápagos tortoises are animals with one of the longest life spans on earth, and the OKC Zoo’s group of four are the zoo’s oldest inhabitants.”
With the addition of the larger, modern habitat, the zoo continues its commitment to the conservation of these creatures.
By relocating and constructing the new Galápagos tortoise habitat inside the Children’s Zoo, the zoo includes a large viewing window for guests to see the tortoises on colder days.
The OKC Zoo is a conservation partner of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and actively supports the organization’s goal of zero turtle extinctions. With projects in turtle hot spots around the world, including Belize, Madagascar, India, China, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, the TSA is a recognized force for turtle conservation globally. “Efforts are specific to the area, the local issues, and the turtle species. TSA has also established the Turtle Survival Center, a large breeding center in South Carolina. The center is home to 600 turtles representing 32 of the world’s most critically endangered species,” said Lawson.
OKC Zoo guests can support conservation initiatives such as TSA by “rounding up.” Round Up for Conservation is a program that raises funds from OKC Zoo visitors who donate their spare change when they purchase admission tickets or buy food or beverages at the zoo. By rounding up the amounts of their purchases, zoo visitors have contributed more
than $500,000 since the program began in 2011, Lawson said.
“Turtles and tortoises are just so different from other animals. Their shell makes them completely distinct, and it seems awkward, but it works since they’ve been around for millions of years,” said Lawson. “We hope to add the Galápagos Islands to our conservation travel program in the near future.”
The Tulsa Zoo also works with giant tortoises, but not the ones found in the Galápagos Islands. The Aldabra giant tortoise hails from the Aldabra group of islands off the coast of Madagascar, and these 400-pound animals are the second-largest giant tortoise behind the Galápagos tortoise. In fact, the Tulsa Zoo leads the way in breeding programs for this threatened species and is home to almost all captive Aldabra tortoises in the world. Through the unique breeding program, more than 160 Aldabra tortoises have been born at the Tulsa Zoo.
For more information about the Tulsa Zoo Aldabra tortoise program, visit tulsazoo.org. For more information about the Oklahoma City Zoo Galápagos tortoise program, visit okczoo.org.
