Darwin Research Centre

Next up was the Darwin Research Centre which I have been looking forward to visiting for months due to their tortoise breeding program. Our guide for la ruta de la tortuga was Rubén who had extensive knowledge on the animals and the current breeding programs going on. He first shared a lot of the history of the island and the centre with us and then we toured the breeding itself. Ruben explained that the tortoise are bred there and kept there until they are able to be released into the wild at 5 years old. The larger tortoises you can see were pets (it was possible to have a giant tortoise in your garden in the Galapagos up until the 1950's) and so are now too used to captivity. The smallest babies you can see are just 6 months old! I was then able to tour the fascinating exhibition hall, which shared information all about the centre, it's aims and it's programs at lesuire. A fascinating experience!Read more