Nathalie Marquis
#Act4
Wildlife
Diego, the Galápagos saving his species from extinction, retires
19 June 2020
News
A giant Galápagos tortoise whose legendary libido has been credited with saving his species from extinction has officially entered retirement.
Diego and 14 other male tortoises have returned to their native Española, one of Ecuador's Galápagos islands.
The tortoises were put out to pasture on Monday after decades of breeding in captivity on Santa Cruz Island.
The breeding programme was a success, producing more than 2,000 giant tortoises since it began in the 1960s.
Ecuador's environment minister, Paulo Proaño Andrade, said the breeding programme was "closing an important chapter" in its history.
Diego, aged 100, is thought to have fathered hundreds of progeny, around 40% of the 2,000 giant tortoises alive today by some estimates.
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