8 Rare Galapagos Tortoises Found Killed
Pastor Dale Morgan
8 Rare Galapagos Tortoises Found Killed*
Wednesday July 4, 2007 5:01 AM
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Rangers found the shells of eight endangered giant
tortoises believed to have been killed by poachers, Galapagos National
Park officials said Tuesday.
Poachers sometimes kill the protected tortoises and use the meat for
consumption or for sale on the black market.
Of the remains discovered, five were up to 15 years old, and three were
adult females - possibly older than 80 - the park said in a statement.
The park called their deaths a great loss, saying some had been hatched
from artificially incubated eggs and raised for seven years by
scientists before being released into their natural habitat.
Galapagos Islands authorities estimate there are about 7,000 of the
giant tortoises left.
Some 625 miles off Ecuador's Pacific coast, the Galapagos are
world-renowned for their unique plant and animal life. Charles Darwin's
observations of the islands' finches inspired his theory of evolution.