After 112 years, the rediscovery of the extinct Galapagos giant tortoise is confirmed

The Galapagos giant tortoise did not go extinct. After 112 years, a specimen was discovered, renamed Fern

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

The Galapagos giant tortoise did not go extinct. After 112 years, a specimen was discovered, renamed Fern, which gives new hope for these beautiful animals. The news was announced by the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment in a post on Twitter.

Exceptional creatures the giant tortoises. Their survival is considered at risk but in 2019 after more than a century from the officialization of its extinction, a giant tortoise endemic to the Fernandina Island was found in the wonderful Galapagos Archipelago.

It is one of 14 species of giant tortoises native to the islands and many of them are at risk of extinction. Inserted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the list of extinct animals in 1906, it is an adult female belonging to the Chelonoidis Phantasticus species, identified by an expedition of experts from the Galapagos National Park and the US NGO Galapagos Conservancy.

Rediscovery of the Galapagos giant tortoise confirmed

Now, two years later, the DNA results have arrived that confirm the news: the animal is a Fernandina tortoise (also known as the Fernandina Giant Tortoise) and it is not extinct! Genetic analysis has now confirmed that it is related to the Chelonoidis phantasticus turtle species native to the island. These results confirm what researchers at the Galapagos Conservancy and the GNPD have long hoped for.

It was believed to be extinct over 100 years ago! We have reconfirmed its existence. The tortoise of the species Chelonoidis phantasticus was found in #Galapagos. Starting with such good news for our management is a nice coincidence. Hope is intact. #TogetherWeAchieve pic.twitter.com/KOmBMLIfEY

– Gustavo Manrique M. (@GustavoManriq_M) May 25, 2021

Scientists from Yale University confirmed the genetic similarity between the recently discovered solitary female giant tortoise on Fernandina Island and the Fernandina giant tortoise last reported 112 years ago and long considered lost forever. The giant tortoise was found during a 2019 joint expedition of the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) and the Galapagos Reserve. Scientists are now doing what they can to find a possible mate and save the species.

One of the greatest mysteries of the Galapagos was the Fernandina Island giant tortoise. The rediscovery of this lost species may have come at just the right time to save it. We now urgently need to complete the island search to find more turtles

said Dr. James Gibbs, vice president of science and conservation for the Galapagos Conservancy and a turtle expert at the State University of New York.

Prior to the 2019 discovery, only one specimen of the Fernandina giant tortoise had been found, a male identified during the California Academy of Sciences expedition in 1905-06. Populations of giant tortoises were decimated throughout the Galapagos archipelago in the 10th century due to exploitation by whalers and buccaneers, and the Fernandina giant tortoise species was believed to be extinct due to volcanic eruptions in past centuries. The current population of giant tortoises across the islands is only 15-200.000% of its historical number, which is estimated at between 300.000-XNUMX individuals.

But there is hope. Park rangers found signs (traces and droppings) of at least two other turtles on Fernandina Volcano during research that led to the discovery of Fern. Galapagos Conservancy has launched an urgent appeal on galapagos.org/savethefernandinatortoise to raise funds to embark on the expedition in search of these and possibly other turtles to save this species from the brink of extinction.

There is still hope!

Sources of reference: Twitter / GustavoManriq_M, Galapagos