Day 86 - Second Galapagos Day - Darwin Centre and Highland Tortoises

This was our second full day on Galapagos, and our first excusion before lunch was to the Charles Darwin research centre. Here they are focussed on breeding the tortoises from the various islands. 

An average tortoise lives between 120 and 170 years, but thousands were killed for food in the 1800's reducing the population from about 400,000 to less than a quarter of that now. There are fifteen different species, most from different islands, with one of those now extinct since the last died in 2012. 

So breeding is a big deal. They collect the eggs from the ground a few days after they are buried by the the tortoises. This stops dogs and pigs digging them up and destroying them. They are taken to the research centre and incubated very carefully using a hair dryer to keep the incubators in order! They are kept at 28 degrees for males and 29.5 degrees for females. The photos show the small tortoises at a few weeks old, then some months and years. They are kept very well protected as there is a strong market for stolen tortoises, at about US$25,000 a piece! A local gang comprising conservators, police and customs agents was recently caught and jailed for their theft. 

Probably the most interesting feature is that the tortoises have developed over time to suit the island that they come from, so studying them is key for the Centre. One called "George" in my pictures died in 2012 and has been to the taxidermist in the USA, as he is the last specimen of that species, having been reared and looked after by a local ranger for 40 years. He was estimated at 170 years old. 

After lunch together at the Bhia Mar again, we caught a bus up to the highlands to see three things. The first was two large sunken holes or collapsed tunnels. The second was to a long lava tube about 400m in length on private property, requiring a steep step entrance, and a small squeeze midway through the tunnel. At higher sections, the roof was about 20m high and was quite impressive. 

The third, was an extension to the farm, with lots of large tortoises on it. They were fascinating to see in their natural environment as they are so famous on Galapagos, but didn't do much for me - just an interesting curiosity. So we took a bunch of photos of course. 

We drove back to the village and had a delightful but overly filling dinner at Isla Restaurant, with the sandy floor. We also did some clothes shopping!