Discovery of dead giant Galapagos tortoises raises alert

Ecuadorian authorities have launched a probe after discovering the bodies of four endangered Galapagos giant tortoises last week.

The remains were found in a national park on Isabela, the largest island of the Galapagos archipelago. An environmental crimes unit is investigating the deaths of these tortoises.

The authorities believe that the tortoises are being hunted by poachers for their meat. Their meat was once considered a delicacy, and it appears that their flesh remains in demand to this day.

This is not the first time that authorities have discovered giant tortoise remains in the national park, even though there has long been a ban on killing the creatures. Hunting and killing of the species have been banned since 1933. Anyone found guilty of the crime could get up to three years in prison.

In September 2021, police found the bodies of 15 Sierra Negra giant tortoises on Isabela. The discovery led to a huge outrage in the country, but that has clearly not deterred the poachers.

In March, the Ecuadorian authorities found 185 baby giant tortoises stuffed in a suitcase during a routine check at Seymour airport in the Galapagos.

The little hatchlings were being trafficked for the purpose of human consumption. An investigation revealed that the tortoises were hunted and killed for their meat. The authorities are now convinced that the practice has not stopped.

The Galapagos archipelago is famous for a wide variety of endemic species of plants and wildlife. It is a prime location for researchers to study evolution as a result of natural selection. Darwin famously spent time studying the unique animal species there. His findings eventually led him to develop his ground-breaking theory of evolution.

Darwin and his crew took as many as 30 live tortoises with them on their way back to Polynesia. They ate most of them while crossing the Pacific.

According to a BBC report, there were around 250,000 Galapagos giant tortoises in the region once. The number has now come down to around 15,000.