But it may be possible to resurrect the Floreana tortoise yet-by studying a long-lost population left by pirates on an extinct volcano.īack before it was made illegal, many families on this island had a couple big tortoises ambling around as mascots. The tortoises on Floreana today are mongrels from other islands, many bred from former pets. The last pure Floreana tortoise died out some time not long after Darwin visited in 1835, another tale of runaway human consumption dooming a species to extinction.
But these tortoises aren’t really the species that once lived on Floreana, Chelonoidis elephantopus. There are a handful of big tortoises up here in corrals, and some young, toaster-sized ones too. If you’re lucky, he or she might cast an unimpressed look in your direction. Hop off at the Asilo de la Paz and wander around until you come across the largest land reptile you have ever seen, eating some iceberg lettuce on a concrete slab. It’ll be driven by one one of the locals and you can sit on a wooden bench in the back. From the dock, just weave between indolent sea lions and impassive ruby-red marine iguanas and ask around for the truck to the highlands. If you go to Floreana Island, in the Galapagos, you can still see descendants of the giant tortoises that Darwin documented in the 19th century when he visited these islands.
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