Turtles and Tortoises

We have seen the land turtles on all three islands so far. We have been to three breeding centers, the one on Isabela being the largest so far and the only one breeding five of the ten remaining species in the Galapagos. The famous Lonesome George died last year and sadly was the last of his species leaving ten of the original 15 species left. Each island and in fact each volcano had its own species of turtle.

They are a strange and interesting animal moving slowly but steadily and the larger ones it seems with great effort. The breeding programs are aimed at restoring their numbers which today estimate to be about 25,000, a far cry from the hundreds of thousands that must have once existed. In the 1800's ships would stop by the islands and stock up on turtles as a supply of food, stacking them in the hold taking up to 600 turtles at a time. Apparently, these turtles can survive a year without food or water. There are records showing that up to 200,000 turtles were taken by the whaling ships during a 30 year period. So you can imagine how many turtles once lived on these islands.

Their enemies are few once they reach a certain size which is at the age of four. Their eggs and new hatchlings are sought after by rats and cats (which were brought to the islands by humans) and birds. If they survive to see their fourth year, they can live as long as 180 years.

I don't know what is the difference between a tortoise and a turtle. But we seem to use the term tortoise only for land turtles. We have also seen a lot of sea turtles in the water here. I think most of them have been green turtles, but not being a turtle expert, I can't be sure. They also grow to be quite large and don't mind us swimming around them. It seems most of the animals we encounter are not too bothered by us.