Galapagos Islands Tortoise (Turtle)

by Darcy Pattison

STARRED Kirkus Review: "This well-crafted success story of a species’ salvation will encourage budding environmentalists."

In 1963, Ecuador established a national park to protect the Galapagos Islands. When they did a census, scientists found only 14 individuals of the Española Island tortoises. The species was almost extinct. Then, they found one more Española tortoise in the San Diego Zoo, whom they named Diego, and he was brought back to the Galapagos for a breeding program.

In 2020, Diego returned to his home island to join over 2500 other Española tortoises. This is the story of one of the most successful breeding programs in scientific history. This amazing giant tortoise species was saved by fifty years of hard work by scientists and hundreds of volunteers.

Read the story of Diego, the giant Galapagos tortoise who returned home about 100 years after he was captured. He will now live out his life with his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren on the island of his birth.

“A worthwhile addition to Pattison’s Another Extraordinary Animal series.” Booklist

Animal Books for Kids Series

Bird. Mammal. Spider. Amphibian. Reptile.

This series includes the story of the oldest bird in the world, a spider in space, an orphaned puma cub, a bullfrog with a world-record leap, and the poignant story of saving a species from extinction.

The series is much more than just an introduction to the animal kingdom. It chronicles the story of how humans interact with animals in various ways: how we enjoy, challenge, admire, endanger, and save them. It's a fabulous series for kids to learn about the amazing complexity of animals. Science worksheets and lesson plans are available below.