NASA data guides return of giant tortoises to Floreana

For the first time in more than 150 years, giant tortoises are returning to the wild on Floreana Island, guided by NASA satellite data that helps scientists locate food, water, and nesting habitat. The Galápagos National Park Directorate and Galápagos Conservancy released 158 tortoises at two sites on Feb.

20 as part of a broader effort to restore tortoise populations to the archipelago. Tortoises vanished from Floreana in the mid-1800s after heavy hunting and the arrival of predators such as pigs and rats, and their absence altered the island’s landscape. Researchers found unusual tortoises on Wolf Volcano in 2000, and DNA from bones of extinct Floreana tortoises later confirmed that those animals carried Floreana ancestry, spawning a breeding program that has produced hundreds of offspring.

Over the last 60 years the Galápagos National Park Directorate has raised and released more than 10,000 tortoises across the islands.

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