Charles Darwin Research Center and Lonesome George

In 1959, 100 years after the publication of The Origin of Species, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) provided the initial funding for the Charles Darwin Research Station on the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz.   The Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) established the Tortoise Breeding Center in 1965.  Initially the Galapagos National Park Directorate ran the center with the CDRS.  In 1998, the Galapagos National Park Directorate assumed full responsibilities.  

The Fausto Llerena Breeding Center gets its name from long-time dedicated employee, Fausto Llerena Sánchez, who was the primary caretaker for world-famous tortoise Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island giant tortoise. 

Llerena cared for George for 30 years, until the tortoise died at the age of one hundred in June, 2012.  Llerena’s descriptions of his interaction with George ring true to anyone who has ever bonded with an animal or had a pet.  Lonesome George would approach his caretaker and stretch his neck as if reaching for him.  If Llerena patted his head, George would extend his neck further.  (info from https://tinyurl.com/mongabay-com-George-Llerejna)

For more information, visit 

https://inhabitat.com/rip-lonesome-george-worlds-last-pinta-giant-tortoise-dies/lonesome-george-1

In his early days, Lonesome George would have looked like one of this little guys.

To add a little more perspective to George’s longevity…You may remember that, early in this series, I described how the Galapagos form over a volcanic hot spot where constantly moving tectonic plates,  like a giant conveyor belt, carry the  island away from its point of origin.  The islands move about one to two inches a year.  In George’s lifetime, his island home moved about thirteen feet.

#     #     #

Next:  More on the Galapagos breeding program ad th the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Human Side to the Galapagos Islands

From our Santa Cruz camp site, we go to the Tomas de Berlanga Model School. A leader in environmental education, the school was founded with the idea that protecting the Galapagos depended on educating the population. Since the mid-1990’s the school has offered bi-lingual education for grades K through 12 and served as a training ground for educators.  
 

Guide Roberto & Instructor (who happens to be his wife) from Tomas de Berlanga Model School

We move on to the Lava Java Coffee Plantation.  The first coffee seeds may have arrived about 150 years ago, but the plantation owes its origins to the environmental focus of its owners.  They didn’t initially plan to establish a coffee plantation, but when they found some struggling coffee bushes on their land, they found an opportunity.  The proceeds of organic coffee cultivation go towards protecting and revitalizing the native plants, which, in turn, promote the suvival of indigenous birds and insects.  http://lavajavagal.com/ 

Lava Java Coffee Plantation

Coffee Plant

Lunch is at the elegant Altair Farm in the highlands. Our camping may not have been ‘roughing it’ and the Letty’s crew, accommodations, and meals are excellent.   But as we seat ourselves at the table for lunch, I am struck by the difference between traveling 'hotel to hotel' (as I have often done) and living on a small ship.  This is  a nice interlude in our trip, and the grounds are lovely. But seeing the life of the Galapagos as I have been--I wouldn't give that up for anything.
 

Altair Farm

 

Altair Farm Grounds

It's a little disconcerting to be surrounded by groomed grounds and elegant rooms after walking with the iguanas, talking with the blue-footed boobies, sleeping among the giant tortoises. This is quite a change from our last few days.

I have been aware throughout the island visits that protecting indigenous life and the ecology is critical.  Most islands have no regular human population.  Strict rules specify where we intruders can walk.  (I’m pretty sure I omitted telling you about the time that I went to the right of a rope along a beach and was quickly guided to the left -- there’s the animals’ terrain, which is most of the land, and then the areas we can visit, which is very carefully controlled.)  I appreciate the value placed on native life, on restoring and maintaining the habitat.

Learning about the coffee plantation and the school emphasizes the importance of protecting the environment.  It’s a little ironic that two human-run places highlight that significance.
 

#     #     #

Next: Charles Darwin Research Center 

 

Galapagos Giant Tortoises, continued

About 25,000 wild tortoises still live on the Galapagos islands today.  In the late 1950s, conservation efforts began with the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation. 

As our day in the camping site draws to a close, we head to the dining area.  Dining at our camp site, like sleeping, is not roughing it.

Dining Tent

In a well lit and comfortable tent, the chef has a full dinner ready for us. We relax by the fireplace in the lounge, enjoy each other’s company and the bar. And after dinner, guide Roberto entertains us for a while.  Definitely not roughing it. 

In the morning, after breakfast, we have more time to visit with the tortoises.

 

No matter how many times I look at these photos, the wonder remains: at the animals’ survival, adaptation, and size.

The tortoises’ main sources of nutrition are grasses, cactus pads and other reachable native vegetation. They drink large quantities of water when they can and store that water in their bladders for up to a year.  Because their level of activity depends on the temperature and how much food is available, that storage capability is the key to their survival.

I notice the ground under several of the tortoises, like the one above, shows no signs of vegetation.  It appears that since they don’t move much,  eventually the growth beneath them stops.  And when they get hungry, dinner is just a few inches away.

Giant tortoises breed in the warmer season.  Our guides tell us that males competing for a mate will stand tall (that’s a relative term here), extend their necks as much as possible, and face-off with mouths open.  The ‘big guy’ wins and the smaller one retreats.  We didn’t see any doing that. 

Tortoises move slowly: the fastest time on record is roughly twenty-five feet a minute. They rest as much as sixteen hours a day.  Whether the two below are resting or perhaps preparing for (or recovering from) another activity, I don’t know.

After mating, in the cooler season, the female tortoises lay their eggs.  With their hind legs, they dig holes (in a relatively dry area) and drop eggs that will take up to six months to hatch. Here we see the adults; no signs of eggs or young.

We tear ourselves away from the tortoises to explore the lava caves in the area.  These lava ‘tubes’ generally form when a layer of rock hardens above flowing lava.  The molten rock inside keeps moving, creating a tunnel. 

I don’t go very far before I spot an owl.

I apologize for the grainy photo, but I choose not to use a flash.  If he’d wanted light, he wouldn’t be in a tunnel. I admit that as I selected photos for this post, at first I couldn't tell just what that fuzzy image was. 

I also have to confess that saying ‘we explore the lava caves’ is…not quite true.  The photo below shows you about how much exploring I do.  I’m not fond of small, dark spaces; I’ll never be a spelunker. I take a few photos of my more daring friends before they descend, and then I retreat.

While they explore dark enclosed spaces, I visit with some more tortoises.

When we were getting to know iguanas, I learned that Sally Lightfoot crabs help groom iguanas by feasting on dead algae and parasites.  

Some finch species have developed a similar symbiotic relationship with the tortoises. The birds consume ticks that hide in the skin creases or on their shells. The birds often hop and dance to indicate feeding time has arrived, and the tortoise cooperatively stands and stretches, offering up a meal.

#     #     #

Next: 

A Few Human Touches:  School, Lava Java, and an elegant hotel.