6/22/2023 0 Comments Pinta island plants![]() Small birds, such as Galapagos finches, can often be seen sitting on the backs of giant tortoises. They enjoy many activities like basking with the sun and bathing in water, but can survive for up to a year without water or food. The rest of their time is spent eating grasses, fruits and cactus pads. The Galapagos giant tortoise spends an average of 16 hours per day resting. They tend to live on arid islands in Galapagos, where food is less abundant. ![]() Saddle-backed tortoises have an upward curve to the front of their carapace, which allows them to stretch up to reach higher growing plants. They tend to live on large, humid islands where there is lots of vegetation to eat. Dome-shelled tortoises lack an upward angle to the front of their carapace (shell), restricting the extent to which they can raise their heads. Giant tortoises show large variation in size and shape but all species can be classed into two main shell types: domed and saddle-backed. After the death of Lonesome George in 2012, the last Pinta island tortoise, twelve living species are thought to remain in Galapagos across ten islands. The giant tortoise arrived in Galapagos from mainland South America 2-3 million years ago, where they underwent diversification into 14 species, differing in their morphology and distribution. ![]() There are many islands around the archipelago from which the tortoises originate was named after them by Spanish sailors in the 16th century – the Spanish word for tortoise is galapago. And 500 years ago there were believed to be at least 250,000 of them on the archipelago, but after being hunted by whalers and traders and their non-native pets, they have become a protected species. Galapagos Tortoises awaits for you in the highland of Santa Cruz! ![]()
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