Diego and 14 other male tortoises of Galápagos have retired after a successful species-saving breeding programme on Santa Cruz Island for more than 50 years.
The initiative was put in place in the 1960s by the Ecuador government to save the species from extinction. It is only fair to say that the idea was successful as their population has grown up to 2000. More than 40 per cent of the population is still alive. Diego, which is 100 years old, has retired from brought back after fathering hundreds of giant tortoises.
Ecuador’s environment minister, Paulo Proaño Andrade, has said that the breeding programme was closing an important chapter in its history. He took it to twitter to write that Diego and other tortoises were returning home after saving their species from extinction.
In the 60s, there were only two males and 12 females that were alive in this particular species of giant tortoises. They were brought in from California’s San Diego Zoo to take part in a breeding programme.
It has been reported that the Galápagos National Parks service (PNG) believe that Diego was taken from his native Española in the early 20th Century by a scientific expedition. They weigh about 80kg, 90cm long and 1.5m tall at full stretch.
