After 175 Years, Giant Tortoises Return to Their Galápagos Island Home

Nine men walk single file up a volcanic ridge on Floreana Island, each carrying a hundred-pound plastic crate strapped to their back under the equatorial sun. Inside those crates, something ancient is rattling. 'This is history,' declares Christian Sevilla, director of ecosystems at the Galápagos National Park Directorate. And he's not exaggerating. In late February 2026, Galápagos National Park rangers released 158 giant tortoises onto Floreana Island — the first time the species has set foot there in 175 years. The original Floreana tortoise was driven to extinction by whalers and settlers who harvested them for food in the 1800s. But the story didn't end there. Scientists discovered that giant tortoises living near Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island carried Floreana tortoise DNA — the genetic legacy of tortoises that had been transported between islands centuries ago by passing ships. For more than a decade, the Galápagos National Park's breeding centre on Santa Cruz Island has been carefully selecting and breeding these hybrid tortoises, concentrating the Floreana lineage with each generation. The tortoises released this month range from 7 to 15 years old and weigh between 10 and 40 pounds — not quite giants yet, but they will be. The release is the culmination of a partnership between the Galápagos National Park Directorate, the Galápagos Conservancy, and international research teams who spent years mapping the genetic heritage of thousands of tortoises across the archipelago. 'We found the genetic ghosts of an extinct species hiding in plain sight,' researchers explained. 'By selectively breeding those individuals, we're essentially resurrecting the Floreana tortoise — not through cloning, but through patient, strategic conservation.' Floreana's ecosystem has been carefully prepared for their return. Invasive species that once devastated the island's native wildlife have been removed through years of restoration work, making it safe for the tortoises to fulfil their ecological role as landscape engineers — spreading seeds, creating clearings, and shaping the vegetation that countless other species depend on. Hundreds more tortoises are waiting at the breeding centre, ready for future releases. The goal is to establish a self-sustaining population that will shape Floreana's ecology for centuries to come. After 175 years of absence, the giants are home. 🐢