Spike
High Supremacy Member
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Diego the Galápagos Giant Tortoise: Conservation Success Story
Species: Chelonoidis hoodensis (Española giant tortoise)
Origin: Española Island, part of the Galápagos archipelago
Estimated Birth Year: Around 1910
Notable Achievement: Fathered over 800 offspring, contributing to the recovery of his species from near extinction.
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Background:
In the 1960s, the Española giant tortoise population had plummeted to just 15 individuals — 12 females and 3 males — due to overexploitation by whalers and habitat degradation by invasive species (like goats). The species was classified as critically endangered.
To preserve the species, the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation launched a captive breeding program. Diego, who had been living at the San Diego Zoo, was identified as a member of the correct subspecies and was relocated to the breeding center on Santa Cruz Island in 1977.
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Contribution to Species Recovery:
• Through DNA testing, researchers determined that Diego fathered approximately 40% of all offspring born in the breeding program — around 800 to 900 tortoises.
• His active breeding efforts played a pivotal role in boosting the wild population to over 2,000 individuals.
• Thanks to the success of the program, the species is now considered stable and no longer requires captive breeding.
⸻
Retirement and Return to the Wild:
In June 2020, Diego was retired from the program and returned to his native Española Island, where he now lives in the wild. Officials noted his behavior as “energetic and reproductive,” describing him as a key figure in one of the most successful examples of conservation through captive breeding.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1PGS1eBVSY/
Species: Chelonoidis hoodensis (Española giant tortoise)
Origin: Española Island, part of the Galápagos archipelago
Estimated Birth Year: Around 1910
Notable Achievement: Fathered over 800 offspring, contributing to the recovery of his species from near extinction.
⸻
Background:
In the 1960s, the Española giant tortoise population had plummeted to just 15 individuals — 12 females and 3 males — due to overexploitation by whalers and habitat degradation by invasive species (like goats). The species was classified as critically endangered.
To preserve the species, the Galápagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation launched a captive breeding program. Diego, who had been living at the San Diego Zoo, was identified as a member of the correct subspecies and was relocated to the breeding center on Santa Cruz Island in 1977.
⸻
Contribution to Species Recovery:
• Through DNA testing, researchers determined that Diego fathered approximately 40% of all offspring born in the breeding program — around 800 to 900 tortoises.
• His active breeding efforts played a pivotal role in boosting the wild population to over 2,000 individuals.
• Thanks to the success of the program, the species is now considered stable and no longer requires captive breeding.
⸻
Retirement and Return to the Wild:
In June 2020, Diego was retired from the program and returned to his native Española Island, where he now lives in the wild. Officials noted his behavior as “energetic and reproductive,” describing him as a key figure in one of the most successful examples of conservation through captive breeding.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1PGS1eBVSY/
