After having sired around 800 offspring and rescued his species, Diego, a male giant tortoise, will finally return to the wild in the Galapagos
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himHe has been away from home for 80 years with the noble goal of saving his species but now he is finally free. We are talking about a male giant tortoise, Diego, who, having fulfilled his mission, will soon return to the Galapagos Islands.
Diego, a specimen of the giant Spanish tortoise (Chelonoidis hoodensis), which was taken almost 80 years ago as part of a conservation program for the species, is officially retired. Thanks to his contribution, hundreds of turtles have been generated, which has helped to increase the population which, from a handful of specimens, has grown to around 2000 in recent years.
Diego was indeed among the 14 male turtles selected to participate in a breeding program on Santa Cruz Island in Southern California, but no other specimen has played a pivotal role like hers.
Diego's unstoppable libido is in fact considered one of the main reasons for the survival of the giant Spanish tortoises. In fact, when his mission began, there were only two males and 12 females of his species alive on the island.
The repopulation program that saw him as a protagonist was a success and now his mission is over. The Galápagos National Parks Service (PNG) believes this centennial turtle to be the father of about 40% of the new turtle population.
After helping to generate approx 800 descendants, Diego has earned his well-deserved rest and is ready to return to his native places. At the moment the turtle is in quarantine (a necessary precaution to avoid mistakenly transporting seeds of plants foreign to the island).
His arrival on Española is expected in March.
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