Ecuador: find a turtle that was thought to have become extinct a century ago
Ecuador has confirmed that a giant tortoise found in 2019 in the Galapagos Islands is from a species that was considered extinct for a century.
The Galapagos National Park is preparing for an exploration expedition to find more individuals of these giant turtles in an effort to conserve their species.
The turtle was found two years ago on Fernandina Island, one of the newest and most virgin islands of the archipelago, during a joint exploration expedition between Galapagos National Park and the Galapagos Reserve.
Scientists from Yale University concluded that the turtle is a species that was thought to be extinct a century ago. "Yale University has revealed the results of genetic studies and a comparison of DNA with a sample extracted in 1906," Galapagos Park said in a statement.
British scientist Charles Darwin took the Galapagos Islands as a basis for developing the theory of evolution in the 19th century.
"He thought it became extinct more than 100 years ago," Environment Minister Gustavo Manrique said on his Twitter account. We have reaffirmed its existence ».
Data from Galapagos National Park shows that the current number of giant turtles of all kinds is estimated at 60,000.
