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GNP NEWS: Tortoises from the Island of Pinzón are Relocated to Be Bred in Captivity
15 January 2010
The Fausto Llerena Tortoise Breeding Center is the new home for these 20 individuals.
The corrals at the Breeding Center provide conditions similar to those tortoises found in the wild.
A group of 12 adult female and 8 adult male Pinzón tortoises (Geochelone eppiphium) were recently moved from the island of Pinzón to the Galapagos National Park’s Fausto Llerena Captive Breeding and Rearing Center on the island of Santa Cruz to initiate a captive breeding program for the Pinzón population.
Until last year, park wardens collected Pinzón tortoise eggs and hatchlings from nests in the wild and artificially incubated them at the Rearing Center. The juveniles are then raised in captivity until the age of 4, and are then released to the wild.
The 20 Pinzón tortoises will share a specially constructed corral at the Center, and will be under the constant care of park wardens.
For many years, the Park has managed a successful captive breeding program for the Española tortoise (Geochelone hoodensis) population. This program resulted in the recuperation of this highly threatened species.
The Pinzón tortoise captive breeding program should enable the technical team of the GNPS to collect as many as 150 eggs per year, and to achieve a hatching rate of 70% under controlled temperatures.
Proceso de Relaciones Públicas – Parque Nacional Galápagos – Ecuador
For more information write to: comunicacion@spng.org.ec, or visit www.galapagospark.org
