In a statement Friday, Galápagos National Park announced the end of the breeding program, saying an evaluation showed it had met its conservation goals
The program began in 1965, with efforts first dedicated to saving the tortoise population on Pinzón Island, another island in the Galápagos. In 1970, researchers began saving the Española Island tortoises.
Paternity tests indicate that Diego is responsible for about 40% of the offspring produced, said James P. Gibbs, a professor of environmental and forest biology at the State University of New York in Syracuse.“Another more reserved, less charismatic male — ‘E5’ — has generated about 60%,” he said. “The third male — ‘E3’ — virtually none. So Diego has been critical.”
“But it clearly is the other, quieter male that has had much more success,” he added. “Maybe he prefers to mate more at night.”“It might come as a surprise to many, but tortoises do form what we would call ‘relationships,’ ” he said. “The social hierarchies and relationships of giant tortoises are very poorly known.”Carrión, the director of the national park, had a simpler explanation: “Without a doubt, Diego had some characteristics that made him special.
In an interview Saturday night, Carrión said he thought Diego was taken from his home island of Española in the 1930s.
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