Elated 'Animal Planet' scientist recounts discovery of Galapagos tortoise

Record ID: 1397109

  • Title: Elated 'Animal Planet' scientist recounts discovery of Galapagos tortoise
  • Date: 25th February 2019
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 25, 2019) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) 'ANIMAL PLANET' HOST AND BIOLOGIST, FORREST GALANTE, SAYING: "First of all, tortoises are capable of reproduction until the very, very end of their life. She is not at the end of her life. She's healthy, albeit old. Secondly, amazingly, tortoises are capable of retaining fertile sperm within them for 20 or so years. So this animal could have had a mate in the past. You know they could have copulated, the mate could have died, could have been covered in a lava flow, could have died of environmental stress, age, who knows why. And because Fern, the individual that we found was under such immense environmental pressure, she wouldn't lay eggs for 10, 20 more years because they won't put that much energy into reproduction if they're trying to survive, right? Now she's getting water, she's getting food, she's going to gain weight. She's going to be so happy and so much better off that she may actually produce fertile eggs without having to copulate a second time."
  • Embargoed: 11th March 2019 22:51
  • Keywords: tortoise Fernandina tortoise Galapagos Islands Chelonoidis phantasticus
  • Location: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, ECUADOR
  • City: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES / GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, ECUADOR
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Environment,Nature/Wildlife
  • Reuters ID: LVA006A32ZPZB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Species are dying off daily, but biologist and Animal Planet's host Forrest Galante is proud to declare an opposite bit of news.
    Galante is fresh off a trip to the Galápagos islands earlier this month during which he and a team of Ecuadorian scientists discovered a female Fernandina tortoise, a reptile that was long thought to be extinct. After a trek of three miles (five km) over hardened lava on Fernandina island, Galante said he had a breakthrough he could celebrate.
    Galante was led to the Galápagos, located off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, after years of planning. Fernandina is the youngest island of the Galápagos and is home to an active volcano and temperatures that reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius).
    Conditions are so harsh permits are not issued for passage on the island. But documentation of the Chelonoidis phantasticus giant tortoise from back in 1906 motivated Galante and his team to undergo the first "viable search effort," as he termed it during an interview with Reuters in New York.
    This expedition was organized by Animal Planet in coordination with Galante, a biologist and "Extinct or Alive" host, as well as Galapagos National Park Ranger, Jeffery Malaga, and the Director of the Galapagos Conservancy, Washington Tapia. For his part, Tapia told National Geographic he has been searching for the Fernandina for 30 years.
    The team began their search by scaling the volcano on the island to gain a view of green areas on the island, Galante told Reuters. Two days of surveying the island led to the discovery of fecal matter as well as dirt prints suggesting the tortoise's existence. Continued surveying led to the uncovering of a tortoise bed, and then the animal herself.
    After the discovery, the Fernandina tortoise, nicknamed "Fern", was taken to a breeding center on nearby Santa Cruz island in the Galápagos, according to the Ecuadorian Environmental Ministry.
    Giant tortoises are fundamental figures in the world of conservation, as they were closely studied by 19th century British naturalist Charles Darwin. Roughly a dozen types are known to exist on the Galapagos. They can reach some 500 pounds (225 kg).
    "To say we were elated is a huge understatement," Galante told Reuters during an interview in New York on Monday (February 25). "We knew straight away how important this would be to the world as far as creating a new poster child for conservation."
    The crew is awaiting results from genetic testing conducted by scientists at Yale University to confirm the species identification. But in his interview with Reuters, Galante made clear there is little doubt over the identification, given the tortoise's measurements.
    The scientists were able to date the tortoise as being around 100-years-old. Galante emphasized in his interview with Reuters she's led a "challenging" life in which she's been isolated and cut off from much vegetation as a result of the difficulty of traversing over dried-out lava.
    But despite those obstacles, Galante said he had hope in the continuation of the species. Tortoises are capable of reproduction until the very end of their lives - which could be 200 years.
    "Amazingly, tortoises are capable of retaining fertile sperm within them for 20 or so years. So this animal could have had a mate in the past. You know they could have copulated, the mate could have died, could have been covered in a lava flow, could have died of environmental stress," Galante said.
    Now she's getting water, she's getting food, she's going to gain weight. She's going to be so happy and so much better off that she may actually produce fertile eggs."
    (Production by: Dan Fastenberg, Cristina Munoz and Soren Larson)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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