A species of large tortoise not watch since 1906 has been rediscovered on a remote part of the Galápagos Islands , kindling drive to conserve the critically endangered animal .
She ’s exceedingly old and a bit scrawny , but she ’s very much alive .
The metal money to which she go , the Fernandina Giant Tortoise ( Chelonoidis phantasticus ) , was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being “ critically endangered and possibly out , ” but we now know only one of those two claims is correct .
An adult female estimated to be more than 100 eld old was spotted this past Sunday , February 17 , on Fernandina , the third large of the Galápagos Islands , reportsthe Associated Press . Galápagos National Park and Galápagos Conservancy take part in the excursion to relocate the tortoise , as did Animal Planet , which fund the search . Forrest Galante , a biologist and host of the Animal Planet show Extinct or Alive , took part in the joint hostile expedition , and was assisted by two scientist , let in a Galápagos National Park Ranger .
A Fernandina tortoise , take for granted to be extinct since 1906 , has been FOUND ! She was discovered in an jaunt for#ExtinctorAliveby@ForrestGalante . This tortoise was hiding in the thicket of a vent in the Galapagos and was identify by the look of her shell and face.pic.twitter.com/R4a2YOdI8j
— Animal Planet ( @AnimalPlanet)February 20 , 2019
A Fernandina Giant Tortoise had n’t been determine since a deadened male was found in 1906 , leading to reverence the species had gone extinct . Fernandina Island features an active volcano diagnose La Cumbre , and conservationists fear the species had completely collapsed due to the frequent lava flows that cover most of the island .
“ The reason no sighting have been made is that Fernandina is an passing sparse , remote , and harsh environment , more or less completely unobtainable to most people , ” Galante separate Gizmodo . “ to boot , no one from the Galápagos national green really believed in its existence so no resources were put forward to search for the animate being . Fortunately , myself and the two scientist I go with still held out hope , and that lead to the determination of a exceedingly belittled isolated patch of suited home ground and eventually the animal . ”
Galante and his work party had pass two days surveying the island , and the team crossed a 3 - air mile stretch of a solidified lava flow to reach an area previously key as a suitable habitat for the tortoise .
“ The tortoise was find sheltering from the equatorial Sunday , swallow up deep under a pile of brush , ” according to a command Animal Planet institutionalise to Gizmodo . “ A Brobdingnagian celebration ensued as all political party require were able to positively identify the animal in interrogative sentence as an sr. distaff C. Phantasticus based on shell word structure and facial feature . ”
Described as being in “ good wellness ” but “ weedy , ” the tortoise was survive in a volcanic arena with thin vegetation . She ’s about half to two - third the size of the dead male found in 1906 , according to Anders Rhodin of the Turtle Conservancy and IUCN specialist radical , who was quote in the Animal Planet statement .
The tortoise was relocated to Fausto Llerena Tortoise Breeding Center , a national parking lot facility on Santa Cruz Island of the Galápagos . She ’s now know in a peculiarly design enclosure . Tortoise environmentalist would very much like to find a suitable mate to propagate the critically endangered species , and they ’re bright , given the find of tortoise scat and track marks on Fernandina Island .
“ The center she is at is an excellent quickness with a great rail book , ” Galante told Gizmodo . “ Now that we have found the C. Phantasticus and give that signs of a second animal on the island are material , a return trip-up , properly financed with a large act of scientists can take place to locate a male . ”
To that end , the Turtle Conservancy and Global Wildlife Conservation are pledginga maximum $ 100,000 matching donationto investment trust further preservation efforts .
[ Associated Press viaWashington Post ]
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