100 YO Giant Tortoise Has Fathered 800 Babies Since 1960s & Saved His Species From Extinction!
Owing to climate change and global warming, species are being driven towards extinction. Scientists and conservationists are doing what they can to stop that or reverse it. But humans are not the only ones working towards saving animal species.
A giant tortoise has fathered 800 babies till date, saving its species from extinction.
Diego along with some other tortoises was chosen in the 1960s to take part in a breeding programme on Santa Cruz Island, off the southwestern coast of California. At that time, only two males and 12 females of the same species as Diego existed - the Chelonoidis hoodensis, on the island of Española in the Galápagos.
Diego was in captivity at San Diego Zoo and from there he was selected to take part in the breeding programme.
Now after more than 50 years, since the beginning of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative, it will shut down by Ecuador's Environmental Ministry as it has produced more than 2,000 baby giant tortoises.
Washington Tapia, director of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI) said, "Based on the results of the last census conducted at the end of 2019 and all the data available since 1960, both of the island and its turtle population, we developed mathematical models with different possible scenarios for the next hundred years and in all the conclusion was that the island has sufficient conditions to keep the turtle population that will continue to grow normally, even without any new repatriation of juveniles."
He further said, "In addition to the recovery of the giant turtle population, which went from 15 to 2000 thanks to this program, the management actions implemented for the ecological restoration of the island, such as the eradication of introduced species and the regeneration of cacti through Galápagos Verde 2050 project, have helped to ensure that the island's ecosystems currently have adequate conditions to support the growing population of turtles."
Diego is over a 100 years old now and around 40 percent of the tortoises repatriated to the island are said to be related to him.
Diego and the other 14 breeders will be returned to the wild now.
Fb Image credit:
Galapagos National Park and Yacht Isabella