Giant Tortoise

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Galapagos Giant Tortoise, Geochelone elephantopus

The Giant Tortoises of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands are the animal most associated with the archipelago and indeed the namesake of the islands, as the original Spanish explorers named the islands after them. Around six feet long fully grown, this reptilian juggernaut ambles along at near zero miles per hour. It is likely that the tortoises descendants originally floated to the islands, making it also a supertanker!

This casual approach to movement means that they make excellent photographic models, whilst conserving energy for more important tasks like living for around 100 years on a diet of shrubbery. Of the several species still extant there are two distinct shell types, the dome-back and saddle-back, the former being found more in the lush highlands, the latter using its greater neck reach to get to the harder to get leaves of the lowlands.

For those looking for finches, these can be found pecking atop a grateful tortoise, whose neck and legs are stretched fully to assist their feathered friends in this symbiotic field hygiene and lunching exercise. However their great size and 'retreat back into shell' escape and evasion methodology has made them an easy target for hungry 17th century sailors, later oil makers and hungry settlers, but more sadly shell collectors and the like. Even today they are killed at a rate of around ten a year.
See the Galapagos map or Galapagos cruises information.

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