Rare Discovery of Baby Tortoises on Galapagos Island After a Century!

For the first time in over 100 years, baby tortoises have been spotted on Pinzón, a Galapagos island. This is exciting news!

These tiny tortoises are crucial for saving species that are endangered due to human activity. With these new births, there’s hope the tortoises will survive and continue to reproduce, marking a positive step for both the environment and the animals that live there.

Scientist James Gibbs, who first saw the baby tortoises in December, told The Dodo, “I’m amazed the tortoises allowed us to correct our mistakes after such a long time.”

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In the 18th century, sailors arrived at Pinzón Island and unknowingly caused a major problem. The rats they brought with them began eating young tortoises and their eggs, disrupting the island’s ecosystem. It took many years to fix the issue, but eventually, it was resolved.

The rats were so destructive that the tortoise species nearly disappeared. For many years, not a single baby tortoise survived, putting the species at serious risk of extinction.

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In the 1960s, there were only about 100 tortoises left on Pinzón Island. Animal conservationists worked hard to save them. They collected turtle eggs and moved them to a safer island, where they waited for the eggs to hatch. The baby turtles were raised for five years until they were big enough to return to Pinzón without being harmed by rats. However, the eggs on Pinzón were still at risk because of the rats.

In 2012, scientists used helicopters to spread a special rat poison across the island. It was the first time this method was used, and it worked—Pinzón is now rat-free.

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During a recent survey in December, we found 10 more baby tortoises, marking the first time in over a century that these tortoises are reproducing in the wild. This is a major milestone.

While 10 may not seem like a lot, it’s just the beginning. We estimate there could be over 1,000 baby tortoises out there.

In total, we observed 300 tortoises during our survey, and we believe there are more than 500 tortoises living on the island, according to Gibbs, who spoke to The Dodo.

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