ADOPT A TORTOISE
The Galapagos giant tortoises are under threat in their natural habitat - introduced species, such as goats and rats, trample on the eggs, eat them or eat the baby tortoises when they hatch.
Many tortoise species have only survived because their eggs are taken to the Breeding Centre at the Charles Darwin Research Station and the babies kept safe there until they reach 4 years old. Once they reach their 4th birthday, the tortoises are taken back to the islands from where they come.
In return for a minimum donation of £25, you can adopt a Galapagos Giant tortoise egg or an adult tortoise and receive a special postcard and fridge magnet. For a donation of £60, you will also receive a beautiful handmade Kosen tortoise (pictured left).
You will have access to special information about the giant tortoises of Galapagos by visiting our Adopt a tortoise area and entering your username and password.
If you would like to adopt a tortoise online please visit Adopt a Tortoise, or contact the Galapagos Conservation Trust, 5 Derby Street, London W1J 7AB, telephone 0207 629 5049 or email gct@gct.org.
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Tortoises at the CDRS Breeding Centre
The tortoise eggs live at the Breeding Centre in an environment that is similar to their natural habitat. Every month their measurements are recorded.
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The Naming of the Breeding Centre - the Fausto Llerena Story
Fausto Llerena is a 59 year old Ecuadorian citizen. For the past 28 years, Fausto Llerena has been working as a park guard at the Galapagos National Park and collaborating with the CDRS. He is the oldest guard in the Park and has dedicated his life to the conservation of the islands.
He started working at the Station as field assistant and afterwards for the Park. "Nowadays it is difficult to get work here but before, people used to beg you to work here" said Fausto. He started in 1971 as an assistant. "There were only 7 of us in the beginning and we used to do everything - chasing, plant collection, monitoring, all by ourselves."
In the beginning, the whereabouts of the tortoises was not well known. His team knew all Santa Cruz, and they knew how to orientate themselves on the different zones. What they did not know was where the tortoise's nests were, and that he learned while working in the Park.
He was a member of the group of 12 people that found "Lonesome George" on Pinta Island.
Fausto began to work in the Breeding Centre in 1976, and in the beginning he did not know even how to hold an iguana, but with time he learned how to measure, monitor and feed them. The incubators were not the same as they are now, they were only hand made and very simple. He is now the main keeper of the tortoise breeding programme, he runs the daily routine of the captive-breeding programme, and he is in charge of feeding, cleaning the corrals, incubating the eggs and raising the young tortoises until they are strong enough to survive in the wild.
After so many years of work, Fausto says he is not tired of his work at the Station. Park guards do so many different things, and as time goes by he gets even more excited about his work. He is learning all the time and everyday he learns something new. His 25 years of hard labour and dedication was recognised in 1999, when the Breeding Centre at the Charles Darwin Research Station was named after him.
Discussing some of the positive aspects of his job, Fausto mentions that he has the chance to meet a lot of people and learn from them. He feels satisfied every time he repatriates an iguana or a tortoise to its original islands. He has controlled nests on the islands many times and has brought many baby tortoises to the Station.
Fausto is pleased because even if he was not born in the islands, he has contributed to the conservation of Galapagos.
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