Giant tortoises reclaim Floreana Island in Galápagos after more than 150 years

Описание: (20 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Floreana Island, Ecuador - 20 February 2026
1. Various Floreana giant tortoises (Chelonoidis niger) in plastic boxes
2. Various of tortoises arriving, people carrying boxes with the tortoises
3. Park rangers placing wooden lids on the boxes to transport the tortoises
4. Various of park rangers carrying the tortoises along the beach and trails before releasing them
5. Various tortoises being taken out of plastic boxes to have a tracker attached to their shells
6. Various park rangers attaching trackers to the tortoises
7. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Christian Sevilla, Director of Ecosystems, Galapagos National Park:
“Today we released an emblematic species in the Galapagos, especially for Floreana, so that it can fulfil its ecological role of transforming the ecosystem and allowing it to begin to regenerate as it was about 150 years ago.”
8. Christian Sevilla observing a tortoise
9. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Christian Sevilla, Director of Ecosystems at Galapagos National Park:
“In order to recover these tortoises, we had to breed them in captivity, observing the adult females and males to determine which had the best genes in order to obtain long-term purity of these species.”
10. Turtles in plastic boxes before being released
11. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Veronica Mora Flores, resident of Floreana Island:
"For us as the community of Floreana, it has been a dream come true. We are seeing the reality of a project that has been in the works for several years. It hasn't been easy, but here we are, and this is a reality. We feel very proud to see that we are going to have our species, such as the giant tortoise, a species native to Floreana."
12. Various of the release of the tortoises
13. Various of the tortoises in the wild

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Santa Cruz Island, Ecuador - 19 February 2026
14. Various workers from the Galapagos National Park and other organizations lowering the tortoises that will be released and placing them on a plastic tray
15. Tortoises of the Chelonoidis niger species
16. Various tortoises being loaded onto a small boat to be taken to the Galapagos National Park vessel
17. Various tortoises on the small boat
18. Various tortoises being loaded onto the Galapagos National Park vessel to be transferred to Floreana Island for release
19. Dozens of tortoises on the vessel
20. Santa Cruz Island
STORYLINE:
Nearly 150 years after the last giant tortoises were removed from Floreana Island in Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago, the species made a comeback Friday, when dozens of juvenile hybrids were released to begin restoring the island’s depleted ecosystem.

The 158 newcomers, aged 8 to 13, have begun exploring the habitat they are destined to reshape over the coming years. Their release was perfectly timed with the arrival of the season’s first winter rains.

“They are large enough to be released and can defend themselves against introduced animals such as rats and cats,” said Fredy Villalba, director of the Galápagos National Park breeding center on Santa Cruz Island, noting that the best specimens with the strongest lineage were selected specifically for Floreana.

These released juvenile specimens, out of a total of 700 planned for Floreana, will be introduced gradually. According to Christian Sevilla, director of ecosystems of the Galapagos National Park, they carry between 40% and 80% of the genetic makeup of the Chelonoidis niger, a species that has been extinct for 150 years.









AP Video shot by Cesar Olmos

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