‘Extinct’ Fernandina Island Tortoise Found After 113 Years
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.22.19
This has certainly been the month for rediscoveries.. A tortoise – the Fernandina Island Tortoise to be exact – thought to be extinct for 113 years has been found on a very remote volcanic island in the Galapagos.
The find was made earlier this month during filming of Animal Planet’s “Extinct or Alive,” led by biologist Forest Galante.
“Having positively identified tortoise scat in the field, the team led by Galante successfully located an active bedding site before finding the animal nearby,” Animal Planet said in a statement. “The tortoise was found sheltering from the equatorial sun, buried deep under a pile of brush.”
The tortoise – dubbed “Forgotten Fern” by Galante and his team – was safely collected and transferred to the Fausto Llerena Tortoise Breeding Center, a national park facility in Isla Santa Cruz. She was given a good bill of health overall, but underweight.
“Having fern in this breeding facility will ensure her ongoing survival, a healthy diet and perhaps, if sperm retention has occurred, fertile eggs and offspring,” Galante wrote in a post on Instagram. “Having this animal in captivity will hopefully prompt new searches and ongoing funding for the location of a suitable mate for Fern with the ultimate goal of re-releasing many healthy animals back onto the island.”
