The British Chelonian Group (BCG) has joined forces with the Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) to put tortoises back on Pinta Island in Galapagos.
The last tortoise on Pinta Island was Lonesome George. He was taken in 1971 to Santa Cruz in an attempt to breed, as he is the last of his subspecies (Geochelone nigra abingdonii).
Lonesome George on Pinta Island photo: Charles Darwin Foundation
The remote island of Pinta is 100miles from Santa Cruz and the ecology is as specialised as other islands in Galapagos. Without tortoises like Lonesome George Pinta is without a major herbivore and the vegetation is suffering. The larger plants are choking some of the smaller plant species.
According to Bryan Milstead, head of vertebrate research at the Charles Darwin Reasearch Center (CDRS) ‘There is an urgent need to manage the ecosystem properly, it is a tortoise-dominated, tortoise-evolved landscape’
Galapagos Islands GCT Map 2006
This ambitious project, planned for the summer of 2008, is being funded by the BCG and GCT. It is the first time in the history of Galapagos that conservationists have attempted to replace one species with another. DNA testing has revealed that Lonesome Georges nearest relatives are the Espanola tortoises (Geochelone nigra hoodensis).
The Espanola tortoise was itself under threat, the tortoise population was unnaturally small and the scarce vegetation was further reduced by the large herds of introduced goats. Captive breeding on Santa Cruz and the eradication of the goats have now rescued the Espanola species.
The Pinta project will initially involve the transfer of 120 Española tortoises between the ages of 5 –10 years to Pinta Island and this will be repeated annually until there are sufficient tortoises on the island to create a sustainable breeding colony. These tortoises will be closely monitored; scientists will make frequent visits to Pinta to record their progress. The tortoises will be fitted with radio or satellite tracking devices, dependent on their size, so that they can be located.
Española Tortoises (Geochelone nigra hoodensis) Photo:Abigail Rowley/GCT
The scientists will be able to evaluate the impact of the tortoises on the economy of the island. Conservationists predict that the natural balance of the islands ecology will be restored in as little as 10-20 years.
This exciting new partnership between the BCG and the GCT aims to raise £29,000. If you would like to be involved in this project more information can be found on the website which will be updated as we have progress reports.
www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk
If you would like to donate please make the cheque out to the 'British Chelonia Group' specifying that you want the money to go to the Pinta Project and send this to the:
Membership Secretary BCG,
PO Box 1460,
Bedworth,
CV12 9ZW.
And thank you on behalf of the Pinta Tortoises.
Anne Rowberry
Article from Newsletter 185
PRESS RELEASES FROM THE GALAPAGOS CONSERVATION TRUST
NOT SO LONESOME NOW?
Speculation that Lonesome George until now the world's sole surviving Giant Galapagos Tortoise of his kind might become a father is being greeted cautiously by Sir David Attenborough.
Speaking from his home in Richmond, the naturalist, whose BBC television series Life in Cold Blood captured the nation's imagination, advised caution over reports that eggs collected from George's enclosure at the Galapagos National Park could contain his heirs.
"We don't know if the eggs are fertile or if they have any connection with George at all. I would say the link is highly tenuous", he said, warning that female tortoises can easily produce eggs without any intervention from a male.
Sir David has previously called George "a living inspiration to us all to protect the remainder of the reptiles and amphibians of the world".
George has been sharing his enclosure with two Wolf volcano tortoise females for some years, since he was rescued in 1972 from Pinta Island off the Ecuador coast and brought to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz.
Three of the nine eggs are now being cared for in an incubator, but it will be 120 days before scientists will be able to confirm their parentage.
Toni Darton, Chief Executive of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, watched Lonesome George trying to mate while she was in Galapagos last year, but sadly the female walked away.
"For many years George's plight has demonstrated the need to conserve Galapagos to ensure other species aren't threatened with extinction would it not be wonderful if his own story could have a happy ending at last!" she said. "This news is obviously causing great excitement, but it is a long shot that these eggs have been fertilised. Any offspring would only carry half the genes of a Pinta tortoise and it would be generations before we could get anywhere close to a pure Pinta tortoise."
The Galapagos Conservation Trust and the British Chelonia Group have been raising money for the transfer of up to 120 specially bred and tagged young Espanola tortoises to date Lonesome George's closest genetic match to be released on Pinta.
"There is an even greater incentive now to go ahead with the repatriation and bring the island back to a tortoise friendly state if George has managed to breed," Toni Darton added.
(23/07/2008)
HAS GEORGE BEEN AT IT AGAIN?
There is more good news for Lonesome George until now the world's sole surviving giant Galapagos tortoise of his kind. Two weeks after one of the female tortoises sharing his corral laid nine eggs his second female companion has followed suit.
The eight eggs have been placed in an incubator alongside the three intact eggs from the first batch. It will be at least 120 days before we know whether the eggs have been fertilised.
The naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who has met George on several occasions, has advised caution over reports that eggs collected from his enclosure at the Charles Darwin Research Station might contain his heirs. Female tortoises can easily produce eggs without any intervention from a male.
However, after decades of failed attempts to encourage Lonesome George to mate it is perhaps not surprising that the news has been so enthusiastically received.
Toni Darton, Chief Executive of the Galapagos Conservation Trust, said:" Everyone who has been touched by Lonesome George's tragic tale will be keeping their fingers crossed. It is typical that you wait twenty years for any sign that George might mate and then both females lay eggs at once. We can now only wait and hope that he might have reached his sexual peak at last."
- Lying 600 miles of the coast of Ecuador the Galapagos Islands make up one of the most important wildlife areas in the world and became Darwin's most significant stop off during his survey aboard HMS Beagle. His observations and discoveries of new species here became the bedrock for his theory of evolution through natural selection. Today the islands make up the fourth largest Marine Reserve in the world and are famously still home to a range of unique wildlife including the giant tortoise, marine iguana, flightless cormorant, blue footed booby, waved albatross and Darwin finches.
- Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting Galapagos. Established in 1995 GCT generates income for numerous projects to protect the unique biodiversity of the islands and meet the challenges of how the human population can live in balance with the unique environment and wildlife of Galapagos. GCT also provides crucial support to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island and to the Galapagos National Park Service. To find out more visit the website www.savegalapagos.org.
- GCT is one of a number of independent Friends of Galapagos organistions around the world. There are similar organisations in the USA, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, New Zealand, Finland and Spain.
(05/08/2008)