Overview
- Park authorities released 158 juveniles aged 8 to 13 after quarantine and microchipping, hiking roughly 7 kilometers over volcanic terrain to reach release sites.
- The tortoises were bred from Wolf Volcano lineages and carry an estimated 40% to 80% of the extinct Floreana species’ genetic makeup.
- The action is a milestone of the Floreana Ecological Restoration Project led by the Galápagos National Park Directorate with partners including Fundación Jocotoco, the Charles Darwin Foundation, Island Conservation and donor backing from the Lindblad–National Geographic Fund.
- The release marks the first phase of a staged plan targeting about 700 tortoises and a program running through 2030 with adaptive monitoring and management.
- Conservationists expect the animals to revive seed dispersal and vegetation dynamics, though invasive plants and mammals persist on the inhabited island and tortoises will take roughly 25 years to reach breeding age.