US EditionGiant Tortoises Return to Galápagos Island After 180 Years of Extinction
The release marks a key step in restoring Floreana’s ecosystem with tortoises carrying 40% to 80% of the original species’ genetic makeup, officials said.
- On Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, the Galápagos National Park released 158 juvenile hybrid tortoises aged 8 to 13 on Floreana Island, timed with the season's first winter rains.
- Historic drivers like whaling, fire and exploitation wiped out approximately 20,000 giant tortoises on Floreana two centuries ago, and Washington Tapia said the reintroduction aims to restore a lost lineage.
- Genetic analysis shows these hybrids trace to Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island, carry 40%–80% Chelonoidis niger DNA, and park breeders selected strong adults to resist introduced predators like rats and cats.
- The released tortoises will share territory with nearly 200 residents and native species while facing threats from introduced blackberry, guava, rats, cats, pigs, and donkeys as part of a 700 planned specimens program.
- Residents welcomed the release, calling it a `dream come true`, as the Galápagos Islands are a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site roughly 1,000 kilometers from the mainland.
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More than a century after their extinction on Floreana Island in the Galápagos, giant tortoises have returned to the area. Rangers hiked seven kilometers through rugged terrain, where they released 158 tortoises into the wild. The Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment announced that the animals were bred with tortoises that carry large portions of the genetic material of the extinct Floreana species, Chelonoidis niger niger, and that live on Is…
158 animals, all microchiped, were released, making Floreana a home for giant turtles after more than a century.
More than 150 turtles have been exposed on the island of Floreana. For decades they had disappeared from there.
Reptiles with a genetic profile very close to the endemic species have been sent to Floreana Island. The fragile ecosystem of this Pacific archipelago is part of the world heritage of humanity.
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