Reptiles
Galápagos giant tortoise
Chelonoidis spp.Conservation statusVulnerable to Critically Endangered, depending on the species
DietGrass, bushes and opuntia cactus
LifespanMore than 100 years
Size and weightUp to about 250 kg
On the wet islands the shell is shaped like a dome. On the dry islands it is shaped like a saddle. This depends on the food available.
Saddle-shaped shell
What makes it specialIt can live up to a year without food or water. That is why whale hunters loaded them onto their ships as live food.
PopulationAbout 60,000 today, after a low of 8,000-14,000 in the 1970s. 13 species are still alive. Endemic: they live nowhere else.
Urbina Bay on Isabela, and the highland reserves of Santa Cruz