A group of giant tortoises raised in captivity on Isabela Island of the Galapagos archipelago were returned to their natural habitat in an inaccessible area of ​​the Sierra Negra volcano, the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition reported on Wednesday.

The tortoises, which are between 5 and 7 years old, went through a quarantine process and had blood tests carried out to ensure that they were in the best of health when they returned home.

In total, 43 chelonians of the Chelonoidis guntheri species born in the Arnaldo Tupiza breeding center returned to their wild environment by virtue of a coordinated effort between the Galapagos National Park Directorate and the Galapagos Conservancy organization.

The tortoises, which are between 5 and 7 years old, went through a quarantine process and had blood tests carried out to ensure that they were in the best of health when they returned home.

The Minister of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, Gustavo Manrique, who participated in the repatriation of turtles, mentioned that “seeing them walk freely in their new home shows that the time and effort invested during these years to care for them has been worth it.”

Due to the difficult access, the repatriation was carried out with the logistical support of a helicopter that facilitated the park rangers and the technical team with the transfer of the giant tortoises, which measure between 28 and 35 centimeters long curved and weigh between 4 and 5 kilos.

Four populations of giant tortoises inhabit the Sierra Negra volcano; 77 of them are considered to belong to the same species (Chelonoidis guntheri), although they remain geographically isolated.

However, there are important morphological differences between them, which is why genetic studies are being carried out to rule out that they are different species.

On the same island since last Friday the Wolf volcano has been in an eruptive process.

It is the highest volcano in the archipelago, with 1,707 meters above sea level and one of the five active volcanoes of Isabela, along with Sierra Negra, Cerro Azul, Alcedo and Darwin.

The archipelago is located about a thousand kilometers from the Ecuadorian continental coasts and was declared in 1978 as a Natural Heritage of Humanity by Unesco. (I)