Giant tortoises are vital 'ecosystem engineers', creating the conditions for other species to thrive. But a growing human population and a rapid rise in tourism are putting pressure on giant tortoises, contaminating their habitats with plastic pollution and other harmful waste.
When Charles Darwin first encountered Galapagos giant tortoises, he was struck by their prehistoric appearance, writing that they resembled “inhabitants of some other planet.” These adorably wrinkly reptiles are the gardeners of Galapagos, shaping the landscape by trampling vegetation, dispersing seeds in their poo and creating the conditions for endangered iguanas and albatrosses to thrive.
But even when Darwin landed in Galapagos in 1835, tortoises were in real trouble. Pirates and whalers raided the Islands, abducting thousands of tortoises to eat on long sea voyages. Humans also brought goats that strip islands of their vegetation, rats that eat hatchlings and eggs, and invasive plants that block the ancient pathways tortoises follow when it’s time to breed.
For over a decade, Galapagos Conservation Trust and their partners have helped to track these migrations, teaching us how giant tortoises behave, and what they need to survive. Tortoises have been reintroduced to islands where they had gone extinct. After decades of decline, numbers are slowly recovering.
But there’s a new threat. Something that didn’t exist in Darwin’s time: plastic pollution.
It’s not just seeds that scientists are finding now in giant tortoise poo. They’re finding plastic bags. Food wrappers. Metal. Broken glass. Medical face masks.
The number of people living in Galapagos is growing. Tourist numbers are rising rapidly, producing rubbish which contaminates tortoise habitats. Local waste facilities simply can’t cope.
That’s why we need your help. With your support, we can train a new generation of Galapagos-born conservationists. We can support the Young Tortoise Protectors, who are cleaning up litter and sounding the alarm when tortoises wander into urban areas. And we can keep pushing politicians and local authorities for stronger measures to curb plastic pollution and upgrade waste management systems.
Please give what you can to help protect these wonderful creatures from harm.
6
species of Galapagos giant tortoise are now Critically Endangered
86.3 %
of litter items found in giant tortoise faeces were made of plastic
8
islands in Galapagos are still home to giant tortoises
75 %
of all recorded species extinctions have occurred on islands
GCT’s newest Ambassador, Stephen Fry, recently presented the BBC Radio 4 Appeal, highlighting the threat to Galapagos giant tortoises from plastic pollution.
