Sentences with phrase «of giant tortoises»

Isla Santa Cruz Visit the Charles Darwin Research Station, home to several endemic species of giant tortoise.

There were once thousands of giant tortoises roaming over the volcanic slopes of Pinta in the Galapagos Islands.

Project Pinta, aimed at the restoration of the island in part through the return of giant tortoises is ongoing today.

In fact, it's likely that ancestors of the giant tortoises living on Aldabra Atoll made the 249 - mile (400 kilometers) swim from Madagascar about 100,000 years ago — the blink of an eye, evolutionarily speaking.

Two millennia ago, millions of giant tortoises roamed Madagascar, an island nation off the southeastern coast of Africa that is rich in species found nowhere else on Earth.

Meanwhile, ICZN has to continue to fulfill its core mission, which involves resolving things such as a dispute over the name of a giant tortoise, most commonly known as Testudo gigantea, found on the Indian Ocean atoll of Aldabra.

Using highly specialized laboratory methods, the international team led by the scientist from Dresden and Professor Michael Hofreiter of the University of Potsdam was able for the first time to obtain genetic data — an almost complete mitochondrial genome — from a 1,000 - year - old humerus of the giant tortoise and compare it with modern species.

With luck, they might make it to 160 - 175 years old (the age of giant tortoise) because they may have found supercentenarians who supposedly beat Jeanne Calment's 122 years and 164 days MLSP standard.

Except for the absence of giant tortoises, the island was in near pristine condition until 1959, when fishermen released three goats there.

The 163 tortoises are part of a population of 1,000 individuals reproduced at the Breeding Center to date, which are repatriated to their place of origin once they reach eight years of age as part of the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI)-- a long - term collaborative effort between the GNPD and Galapagos Conservancy.

The life span of a giant tortoise is another amazing aspect to their story.

Enjoy spotting the different species of giant tortoises, the land iguanas, and see the baby tortoises that will be reintroduced to the wild.

Most excitingly, these efforts have seen the return of the giant tortoise.

After 150 years of being «extinct,» a species of giant tortoise may be on the verge of a comeback tour, scientists report today (Jan. 9).

It's around a 30 minute walk and you'll get to see some of the giant tortoises first hand.