After 87 years of reproductive efforts, a tortoise called “sex machine” for his role in repopulating his species has retired.
After being relocated to Santa Cruz island in Galapagos, Ecuador, by environmentalists in the mid-1960s to safeguard its decreasing population, Diego the Giant tortoise fathered over 800 offspring.
The 100-year-old tortoise will now return to his birthplace, the deserted Galapagos island of Espaola, off the coast of South America, to live out his days in peace.
According to The Guardian, Diego was rescued from the island by explorers in 1933 and finally made his way to California’s San Diego Zoo, where he was conscripted to join the breeding program.
Diego, who weighs 175 pounds (12.5 stone) and stands an amazing 5 feet tall when stretched, went on to become a prolific breeder.
He is thought to be responsible for at least 40% of the 2,000 extant individuals of his species, Chelonoidis hoodensis, a Galapagos tortoise found solely on Espanola.
Ecuador’s Environment Minister posted two photos of Diego and fifteen other species on their way back to Espaola Island, captioning them, ‘We complete a significant chapter in the administration of Galápagos National Park.’
‘After decades of reproducing in captivity and preserving their species from extinction, fifteen turtles from Espaola Island, including Diego, have returned home. Your island is waiting for you with wide arms.’
To prevent non-native flora from spreading to the island by tortoises carrying seeds in their digestive systems, the tortoises were quarantined before being transported home by boat.
‘He’s a highly sexually active male reproducer,’ said Washington Tapia, a tortoise preservation specialist at Galapagos National Park. He’s made a significant contribution to the island’s repopulation.
‘We don’t know precisely how or when he came in the United States,’ Mr Tapia continued. A scientific mission must have brought him from Espanola between 1900 and 1959.
‘We conducted a DNA analysis and discovered that he was the father of over 40% of the offspring released into the wild on Espanola.’
The Galápagos Islands’ biodiversity was widely recorded in 1835, when Charles Darwin spent five weeks there researching turtles, giant tortoises, marine and land iguanas, and circling frigate birds.
However, the population declined in the years that followed as a result of predators, human behavior, and habitat damage caused by invading species.
Diego’s efforts have drastically improved the future prognosis for his species; just 50 years ago, there were only 12 female tortoises on Espaola Island – who had traveled to different sections of the island, making reproduction less possible, according to The Guardian.
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