Galapagos Tortoise

The Galapagos tortoise (Chelonoidis niger) is the largest living tortoise species in the world, native exclusively to the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. Different island populations have developed distinct shell shapes over millennia: domed shells are typical of humid highland environments, while saddle-backed shells evolved in drier lowland areas where tortoises must stretch to reach taller vegetation. Individuals can live well over 100 years in the wild, and some captive specimens have exceeded 170 years.

Galapagos tortoises are keystone herbivores, shaping vegetation structure across the islands by grazing, trampling, and dispersing seeds across large distances. The IUCN Red List currently classifies the species as Vulnerable, reflecting population recovery efforts that have pulled several subspecies back from the brink, while others remain critically endangered or are already extinct. The primary historical driver of decline was hunting by sailors and whalers who took tortoises as living food supplies; today, introduced predators such as black rats (Rattus rattus), feral pigs, and goats continue to threaten nests and hatchlings, and habitat degradation from invasive plants remains a persistent pressure.