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Santa Cruz is the second largest island in the group and, coincidentally, is home to the second largest number of dome-shaped giant tortoises in the Galapagos. This is one element that makes seeing enormous tortoises in the Santa Cruz highlands such a singular experience. It is also one of the reasons it is included in our list of the BIG15 emblematic species of the Galapagos. More specifically, I, Desirée, live on the Island of Santa Cruz, which most people in the archipelago call home. In this post, I’ll glimpse one of the primary reasons I adore this region.
Exploring the Majestic Giant Tortoises of Santa Cruz Highlands
We could see the town’s outline and the misty mountains where tortoises played from the southern coast of Santa Cruz Island, where the Santa Cruz II Galapagos cruise was berthed. At the municipal dock, we dry-landed, got on a bus, and headed into the hills to visit a private tortoise sanctuary. We traveled for roughly forty minutes. A winding road winds between the lush agricultural areas and swaying mangroves, Palo Santo, and leafless trees. Everywhere you looked on the road were tortoises, like wet marbles glistening in the last light! The Santa Cruz highlands are home to an abundance of giant tortoises! It was almost impossible to count so many!
Returning from the Verge of extinction
We saw some of these ancient and extinct reptiles, which were on the verge of extinction not too long ago due to overhunting and damage by introduced species. If not for the Charles Darwin Research Station, the operating arm of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands and a leader in conservation biology research in Ecuador and around the world, and the nascent Galapagos National Park service, we would not have seen as many as we did on this particular day.
The Darwin Station, built in the 1960s, was originally intended to breed and raise giant tortoises in captivity. Since then, it has done a lot, the most significant being the relocation of about 4,000 giant tortoises to their natural habitats.
When we returned to Santa Cruz II, we were all thrilled but tired, and we even felt slightly melancholy about what we had just been through. Even though our incredible journey throughout the Galapagos Islands was almost done, we still had many experiences and tales from our stay.
The Affinity Between Cattle Ranches and Tortoises
Giant tortoises have previously been seen feeding on the island’s western slopes, which are often wetter and have more vegetation. Following the same pattern, humans arrived in Santa Cruz and decided to farm and ranch cattle in the tortoise’s natural habitat. But not long after, the Galapagos National Park designated 97% of the land area as a protected area, leaving the remaining 3% for settlers to reside and conduct their daily business.
But tortoises ignored this human order, migrating yearly to the wet highlands to graze on grass—yes, on the same parcels of land set aside for the colonists! So, the most excellent spot on Santa Cruz Island to see enormous tortoises is at a cattle ranch! Tortoises enjoy it there, especially this time of year. Ranchers that raised cattle eventually lost their territorial dispute, but they also found that tortoises benefitted their economy!
