“We can now find hatchling Galápagos tortoises in the wild on these islands that don’t have rats,” Dena Spatz, a senior conservation scientist with Pacific Rim Conservation in Hawai‘i, said in an interview. Now, signs are emerging that these moves have opened the door for a tortoise comeback in the Galápagos. But conservation groups, scientists and the government of Ecuador, which has jurisdiction over the Galápagos, have used methods ranging from targeted hunts to the pinpoint delivery of poison by drones to eradicate invasive pests from the islands. Until recently, it seemed these interventions would always be necessary to allow the islands’ tortoises to survive. Egg predation by an invasive predator in Isla Isabel, Mexico. The successful eradication of invasive rats is protecting this endemic reptile. Pinzon giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger duncanensis), Pinzon Island, Galapagos. Many of the others cling to existence only through captive-breeding programs and careful protection of tortoise eggs and young. phantasticus), long thought to be extinct. In 2019, a scientist found what turned out to be a single individual of the Fernandina Island giant tortoise ( C. Some of the species are down to just a single individual. Today, all of the 13 remaining giant tortoise species in the islands, genus Chelonoidis, are threatened with extinction, according to the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. This led to the extinction of at least one species, the Pinta Island tortoise ( Chelonoidis abingdonii).

The descendants of the rats, pigs, goats and other alien species human visitors left behind feasted on tortoise eggs and young, squashed their nests and competed with them for food. This regular cull left these species ill-equipped to weather another related threat. The tortoises survived for months at sea until they were needed to feed ships’ crews. But this ability also made the tortoises an excellent source of food for mariners, who often picked up a couple when they passed by the Galápagos. Over that time, they’ve evolved to survive with little food or water in the islands’ harsh desert environment. Giant tortoises ( Chelonoidis spp.) have trundled across the Galápagos Islands for perhaps 3 million years. The authors say the results of the research provide a guide for conservation groups, scientists and countries to take on eradication projects in an effort to encourage the resurgence of native wildlife and restore ecosystems.The researchers looked at the methods, locations and target species of 1,550 eradication attempts on nearly 1,000 islands around the world.Invasive species can be particularly devastating to delicate island ecosystems and the unique native species they harbor.A recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports found that efforts to remove invasive vertebrates from islands were 88% successful between 18.

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