Over 100 years had passed without any baby tortoises seen on Pinzón, a Galapagos island. But now, a few of these cute, tiny creatures with shells have been seen again. This is fascinating news!
The newest animal offspring are vital to rescuing the lives of threatened species on the verge of extinction owing to human activity. There is hope these animals will survive and reproduce with these fresh births. This is a good development for the environment and the creatures that inhabit it.
Scientist James Gibbs, who first observed the young tortoises in December, told The Dodo, “I’m astonished that the tortoises enabled us to repair our mistakes after a long period.”
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At Pinzón Island in the 18th century, sailors made their way there and unknowingly created a significant issue. The rats they brought with them began consuming the young tortoises and their eggs, significantly harming the island’s ecosystem. It took several years before the issue was resolved, but it was.
The rats were very destructive and caused the tortoise species to almost disappear completely. They were so harmful that not a single baby tortoise survived for many years, which caused the species to be in danger of dying forever.
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Back in the 1960s, there were only a hundred tortoises left in a place called Pinzón. People who care about animals, called conservationists, worked hard to save them. They searched for turtle eggs and took them to a safer island. There, they waited for the eggs to hatch and raised the baby turtles for five years until they were big enough to return to Pinzón without being attacked by rats. However, even after this, the eggs on Pinzón were still in danger because of the rats.
In 2012, scientists used helicopters to spread a special poison that only attracts rats on the island of Pinzón. This was the first time such an operation had been carried out, but it was successful, as Pinzón has now been declared rat-free.
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Ten additional baby tortoises were found during a survey we just conducted in December to check on the tortoises’ health. These tortoises are reproducing in the wild for the first time in over a century, making this a significant development.
Even though 10 might not seem like much, it is only the beginning. According to our estimates, there might be more than 1,000 baby tortoises out there.
We saw 300 tortoises in all during our tour. Our observations lead us to believe the island is home to more than 500 tortoises. Gibbs told to The Dodo.
Source Credit The Dodo
