Santa Cruz - August 3rd, 2007
Santa Cruz - August 3rd, 2007
The town of Puerto Ayora is the commercial centre of the Galapagos Islands.
The Charles Darwin Research Station on the fringe of Puerto Ayora breeds tortoises for eventual release
to restore the populations that have been decimated on many islands in the archipelago.
Lonesome George, probably between 90 and 130 years old, is the last of his particular species of saddleback tortoise.
This bird, one of thirteen varieties of Darwin's finch found in the Galapagos Islands,
is distinguished from other varieties mainly by the size and shape of its beak.
The owner of ranches on the fringe of the National Park on Santa Cruz open
their property for visitors to observe the wild tortoises in the highlands.
Land tortoises can be spotted in the wild in the highlands of Santa Cruz.
The lava tubes, some of which are over a kilometre long, were formed when the outer
layers of lava flows solidified, while the molten core continued flowing.
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