In one of the most ambitious ecosystem recovery projects ever attempted, 158 juvenile Floreana giant tortoises have been released onto the Galápagos island where their ancestors were wiped out by whalers nearly two centuries ago. It's the first time the species has roamed Floreana since the 1840s.

For almost 200 years, Floreana Island has been missing something enormous. The Floreana giant tortoise — a keystone species that once shaped the island's entire ecosystem — was driven to extinction in the mid-1840s by whalers who harvested the slow-moving animals for food during long Pacific voyages.

For more than a century, the lineage was presumed lost forever.

A Discovery That Changed Everything

Then, in 2008, ecologists made an electrifying discovery: a relic population of hybrid tortoises living on the slopes of Wolf Volcano on neighbouring Isabela Island carried Floreana DNA. The ancestors of these hybrids had likely been dumped overboard by ships centuries ago and survived in an entirely different ecosystem.

That discovery launched a painstaking back-breeding programme in 2017. Scientists at the Galápagos National Park, supported by the Charles Darwin Foundation, selectively bred tortoises to maximise Floreana ancestry in each generation — essentially reconstructing a lost species from genetic fragments scattered across the archipelago.

The Homecoming

In February 2026, that programme reached its milestone. One hundred and fifty-eight juvenile tortoises, aged between 12 and 14 years — old enough and large enough to survive in the wild — were transported to Floreana and released into habitat that had been meticulously prepared for their arrival.

The preparation was itself extraordinary. The Floreana Ecological Restoration Project had spent years removing invasive goats and rats that had devastated the island's native vegetation. Without that work, the returning tortoises would have had nothing to eat and nowhere to nest.

"Giant tortoises are a critical part of this ecosystem. By dispersing seeds, shaping vegetation, creating microhabitats, and influencing how landscapes regenerate, they help rebuild ecological processes that many other species depend on." — Rakan Zahawi, Executive Director, Charles Darwin Foundation

Why Tortoises Matter More Than You Think

The tortoises aren't just returning to Floreana — they're restarting it. As they move across the island, they'll spread seeds through their droppings, create clearings in dense vegetation, and dig wallows that collect rainwater — processes that sustain dozens of other native species. Their 180-year absence left a gap that nothing else could fill.

Giant tortoises are what ecologists call "ecosystem engineers" — animals whose everyday behaviours physically reshape their environment for the benefit of entire communities of species. Without them, Floreana's ecosystem was incomplete.

A Reminder That Extinction Isn't Always Forever

The Galápagos archipelago remains one of the most important natural laboratories on Earth — the place where Darwin's observations helped shape our understanding of evolution. The return of the Floreana giant tortoise is a reminder that with patience, science, and determination, extinction doesn't always have to be the end of the story.

One hundred and fifty-eight ancient giants, walking home after 180 years. Welcome back. 🐢🌿

Sources: The Guardian, Charles Darwin Foundation