170 giant giant turtles of Galapagos release in their natural habitat (photos)

A total of 170 giant giant turtles were released in their natural habitat after having spent the first four or five years of their life in one of the raising centers of the archipelago dedicated to the conservation of these animals.

EFE

The turtles belong to the species ‘Chelonoidis Vicina’ and were released in the southern part of Isabela, the largest island of the archipelago, located in the Pacific Ocean, about a thousand kilometers west of the continental coasts of Ecuador, as the Galapagos National Park reported on Wednesday.

These turtles were born and were raised at the Arnaldo Tupiza Chamaidán reproduction and breeding center, located in Puerto Villamil, the populated nucleus of Isabela.

There the specimens remained under the care of the rangers until reaching an average weight of 2 kilos and a size of 30 centimeters.

Before their release, the turtles went through a rigorous quarantine process and veterinary evaluation to guarantee their good health.

Liberation was made in the five hills sector, an hour of navigation from Puerto Villamil in fast boat, as far as eighteen guardians were transferred. Its adaptation will have the periodic staff of the Galapagos National Park.

«During 2025, the direction of the Galapagos National Park will continue to repatriate turtles from the parenting centers to natural areas of the archipelago to recover threatened populations,» said its director in charge, María Auxiliadora Farías.

«These actions reinforce the conservation of Galapagos, considered one of the best preserved volcanic archipelagos in the world,» Farías added.

The Captive Reproduction and upbringing centers have established themselves as an efficient management tool, since the creation of the first center in the 60s on Santa Cruz Island, the most populous in the archipelago, located the center of the island region.

Since then, thousands of giant turtles have returned to their natural habitat, thanks to these initiatives.

The Galapagos, formed by thirteen large islands, is one of the best preserved marine reserves in the world and are considered a natural laboratory that inspired the British scientist Charles Darwin to develop in the nineteenth century his theory of evolution and natural selection of species.