The discovery of strange hybrid turtles leads to the return of a giant that has been missing for nearly two centuries

The Ofoq News camera visited the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador to document a historic process of releasing giant tortoises on Floreana Island, for the first time they have roamed freely there in nearly two centuries. Conservationists carried each box, weighing up to 80 kilograms, more than a kilometer into the island, where over the course of three days 158 giant land tortoises will be released.

This first batch of re-releases is part of a larger, long-term plan to reintroduce wildlife to the island with 12 native species. As ecosystem engineers, turtles play an essential role on these tropical islands, helping to spread seeds, trample vegetation, and create habitats for other species.

Each Galapagos island has a distinct subspecies of tortoise. The Floreana Island species was the first to become extinct, largely due to the 19th century whaling industry, which made the island a stopover and exploited the turtles as a food source.

But in 2000, while conducting a census of tortoises across the Galapagos, James Gibbs, vice president of science and conservation at the Galapagos Conservation Foundation, made a surprising discovery at Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island. “There were some weird turtles,” Gibbs said.

“Nowhere else in the Galapagos do two different species of tortoises live together.” Genetic tests showed that these strange tortoises were hybrids, carrying genetic ancestry from Volcano Wolf tortoises and Floreana tortoises.

Over the past 15 years, more than 700 Floreana tortoises have been bred at a breeding center on Santa Cruz Island, in preparation for their release into the wild. All of the turtles in the first group to be released are between 12 and 14 years old, a level of maturity that will hopefully ensure their successful return to their home.

Change won't happen overnight, and more launches are planned over the coming years, but if the classic tale of the tortoise and the hare teaches us anything, it's that the bet is always on the tortoise.