Dr. Joe’s Giant Tortoise Adventure

May

Posted by Rochelle Joseph in Conservation,Dr Joe's Giant Tortoise Adventure,Endangered,Reptiles,Tortoise

Our Houston Zoo Head Veterinarian, Dr. Joe Flanagan, is about to embark on a ground breaking journey to the Galapagos. And he’s giving us the opportunity to essentially go “with” him as he blogs and sends back pictures along the way. He’s on a mission and it begins today. Read all about it:

I have had the good fortune to be able to work periodically in the Galapagos for almost 20 years. During that time, I’ve worked with some amazing scientists, and even more amazing animals and habitats. Next week, I leave for a project which has been in the works for a very long time. In a nutshell, we will be releasing 39 hybrid (but sterilized) Galapagos giant tortoises onto Pinta Island in the northern part of the archipelago.

These animals will be the first tortoises to set foot on Pinta since 1972 when “Lonesome George” was taken from Pinta to the Charles Darwin Research Center in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. Before George was first seen in 1971, his “race” (actually now considered a species) was thought to be extinct. George now stands as the symbol for species extinction as there has not yet been a mate found for him.

George is still in Puerto Ayora. He’s cared for in the tortoise rearing center (Fausto Llerena Centro de Crianza) run by the Galapagos National Park, housed with 2 females from Wolf Volcano on the nearby island of Isabela. It was thought that these were the most closely related form of Galapagos tortoise, and there were hopes that George would mate with them, producing young that could one day re-populate his home island. Unfortunately, despite a few clutches of eggs being found in the past few years, none have proven fertile – and the hopes of finding a female tortoise from Pinta are getting to be more unlikely.

Pinta Island however, needs a tortoise population. Goats had been introduced at one time resulting in thousands of goats building up, and denuding the island of native vegetation. That very vegetation was essential for the survival of other species of native wildlife.

The Galapagos National Park was successful at removing goats from the island, finishing the job in 2003. So now, there is no herbivore in the ecosystem and the vegetation is forming a climax scrub forest — which is the opposite. This is almost as bad as having too many goats eating everything in sight.

To have a natural balance, there has to be a habitat engineer that eats vegetation, and moves through the environment spreading packets of seeds and fertilizer (commonly called feces). If present, a tortoise population would help maintain a mosaic of plant communities that would support a diverse population of wildlife. And Pinta would be just a little bit closer to being restored to the condition it was in when these islands were discovered in 1535.

Right now, I’m receiving equipment loaned to us for use in assessing the health of these animals prior to their release. Chuck Boland (a friend and a supplier of ultrasound equipment to zoos around the country) has generously loaned us a Sonosite 180 portable (battery operated) ultrasound machine. And Abaxis, manufacturer of blood chemistry analyzers, has loaned me equipment to assure the animals have normal organ function and are ready for the transition to the wild.

So, next week I’ll be packing everything together as I get ready to fly to Quito on the first leg of the trip to Galapagos! I intend to report back regularly via this blog, essentially taking you with me. So please join the tortoises and I on this great and important adventure.
Note — This post begins what promises to be a fascinating and informative read over the weeks to come. Dr. Joe will be sending us regular installments throughout his trip. Please check back regularly!!

Written by Dr. Joe Flanagan

The Official Houston Zoo Blog