Interesting Facts About the Galapagos Island Tortoise

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:19 They’re the biggest tortoises in the world
00:00:48 They’re the oldest tortoises in the world
00:01:10 They move faster than you think
00:01:25 The Galápagos Islands is named after them
00:01:55 Their shell is not solid
00:02:08 The shell can’t be removed
00:02:27 They fight rather peacefully
00:02:49 They can go for a year without eating
00:03:09 They are born in pee-soaked sand holes
00:03:30 Their gender is determined by temperature
00:03:49 You can tell their sex from their undershell
00:04:12 They’re sleepyheads
00:04:29 Their shell shape depends on the environment
00:05:00 They have set habits
00:05:16 They are endangered


Perhaps the most famous native species of the Galápagos Islands is the gigantic Galápagos tortoise.
Apart from their enormous size, these old, gentle giants have a plethora of other fascinating facts.

They’re the biggest tortoises in the world
It's understandable if their size strikes you as unusual. Males can grow to be more than 5 feet long and 4 to 5 feet wide on the Galapagos Islands, making them the world's largest tortoises. Females, on the other hand, are typically smaller and weigh around 250 pounds on average.

They’re the oldest tortoises in the world
The tortoises of the Galapagos Islands are among the world's oldest vertebrate species. Their normal lifespan is around 100 years, yet the oldest known tortoise died in 2006 at the age of 176 years.

They move faster than you think
Tortoises are well-known for their sluggish movement.

The Galápagos Islands is named after them
The Galápagos Islands, off the coast of Ecuador, are home to Galápagos tortoises. Many people are unaware that the tortoises were called after the islands, not the other way around.

Their shell is not solid
Their shells are constructed up of honeycomb-shaped air chambers, which makes their weight much lighter—at least for them.

The shell can’t be removed
The shells of the Galápagos tortoises are attached to their skeletons and cannot be removed.

They fight rather peacefully
Given their size, you'd think a giant tortoise fight would be brutal and unrelenting, but they're actually rather modest in this area.

They can go for a year without eating
Galápagos tortoises, believe it or not, may go a year without eating or drinking.

They are born in pee-soaked sand holes
Galapagos tortoises are born in 12-inch deep sand burrows that their moms pee in to prevent the sand from falling on the eggs.

Their gender is determined by temperature
After 4 to 8 months, Galápagos tortoise eggs hatch, and their moms need just keep the sand warm if they want more females and chilly if they want more males.

You can tell their sex from their undershell
Checking the undershell of a Galápagos tortoise is the best way to determine if it is male or female.

They’re sleepyheads
Tortoises in the Galapagos Islands lead quite relaxed lives. They sleep approximately 16 hours a day and spend a lot of time in the sun. They have no set schedule because they can slumber at any time of day or night, as well as on rocks or beaches in the sun.

Their shell shape depends on the environment
A Galápagos tortoise's shell changes shape depending on the habitat in which it is born.

They have set habits
Tortoises in the Galapagos Islands lead routine lives. They feed, nap, and travel at regular intervals, and they follow the same routes. Only under extreme circumstances, such as inclement weather or prowling predators, would they alter their schedule.

They are endangered
Despite their abilities to defend themselves against natural predators, Galápagos tortoises are now classified as endangered due to years of flesh hunting. Furthermore, they are always competing for food with rodents, dogs, pigs, and goats.
Since Charles Darwin's visit to the Galápagos Islands in 1835, the number of tortoise species has decreased from 15 to 11. Despite captive breeding and conservation efforts, it is estimated about 15,000 Galápagos tortoises remain in the wild.
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