Meet the Fernanda giant tortoise, the only living specimen of the species considered extinct in 1906 and which was discovered on the island of Galápagos.
Named Fernanda, the nearly 100-year-old female giant tortoise was found in the Galapagos. The extinction of its species was decreed just over a century ago, but this specimen lives isolated on the Fernandina de Galápagos island, in an extreme place, formed by lava. See below for more information on the now non-extinct giant tortoise found in the Galapagos. Fernanda tortoise Fernanda has been living isolated for 100 years in a super inhospitable environment: a lava prison on Fernandina Island. Even with constant volcanic activity, this almost century-old tortoise remains alive. However, due to the limited diet by the habitat, she is a little smaller than the other documented females, having 54 cm of hoof. Despite territorial and nutritional limitations, it remains the only specimen of its species, Chelonoidis phantasticus. What do scientists expect? The last specimen of the species was documented by the California Academy of Sciences in 1906. With Fernanda's discovery, scientists are hopeful about the probability of finding one more of these turtles. The expectation is to locate one male and one more female this time, with the aim of repopulating the island. Why do you need 2 females? For biological reasons, there must be genetic variability, so that there are no successive crosses between siblings and close relatives and, as a result, genetic problems arise. Therefore, with at least one more female, it is possible to increase the variety of genes circulating in the population. How was the giant tortoise found? Washington Tapia is the leader of the expedition of 7 scientists responsible for finding Fernanda. According to the scientist, they were on a former request on the island for four days. The process was very difficult, after all, they could only enter the west zone by helicopter. On the last day of the visit, by chance, they went to the coral to assess the vegetation. The scientist says that to reach the study site, they had to cross a 5km ring of dry lava. When traveling this way, they located Fernanda. From there, she was transported to the Giant Turtle Breeding Center, isolated for a few days and gradually introduced into the environment. Yale University recognized its genome and its species, until then considered extinct.