Search
Tag Cloud
Archive
- October 2020 (1)
- August 2020 (2)
- July 2020 (1)
- June 2020 (5)
- May 2020 (2)
- April 2020 (1)
- March 2020 (2)
- February 2020 (1)
- January 2020 (1)
- December 2019 (1)
- November 2019 (2)
- October 2019 (1)
- September 2019 (1)
- August 2019 (3)
- July 2019 (1)
- May 2019 (1)
- April 2019 (1)
- March 2019 (1)
- February 2019 (4)
- January 2019 (1)
- December 2018 (3)
- November 2018 (2)
- October 2018 (2)
- September 2018 (3)
- August 2018 (1)
- July 2018 (2)
- June 2018 (1)
- May 2018 (1)
- April 2018 (1)
- March 2018 (1)
- February 2018 (1)
- January 2018 (1)
- December 2017 (1)
- September 2017 (1)
- August 2017 (2)
- November 2016 (4)
- July 2016 (1)
- June 2016 (1)
- May 2016 (3)
- April 2016 (1)
- June 2015 (1)
- May 2015 (4)
- April 2015 (3)
- March 2015 (3)
- February 2015 (4)
- January 2015 (2)
- December 2014 (1)
- November 2014 (1)
- July 2014 (1)
- June 2014 (1)
- May 2014 (3)
- April 2014 (4)
- March 2014 (1)
- February 2014 (1)
- December 2013 (1)
- September 2013 (1)
- August 2013 (1)
- July 2013 (3)
- March 2013 (1)
- February 2013 (2)
- January 2013 (1)
- December 2012 (2)
- November 2012 (3)
- October 2012 (4)
- September 2012 (6)
- August 2012 (5)
- July 2012 (1)
- May 2012 (2)
- April 2012 (2)
- March 2012 (5)
- February 2012 (4)
- January 2012 (5)
- December 2011 (2)
- October 2011 (3)
- September 2011 (2)
- August 2011 (3)
- July 2011 (3)
- May 2011 (2)
- April 2011 (2)
- March 2011 (5)
- January 2011 (4)
- August 2010 (4)
- June 2010 (6)
- May 2010 (1)
- April 2010 (1)
- March 2010 (3)
- February 2010 (4)
- January 2010 (3)
- December 2009 (4)
- April 2009 (6)
- February 2009 (4)
- December 2008 (6)
- November 2008 (3)
- September 2008 (3)
- July 2008 (4)
- June 2008 (7)
- May 2008 (1)
Subscribe
Ready, Set….Slow! Study Reveals that Galapagos Giant Tortoises Migrate
Date: March 12, 2013

When most people think of terrestrial migratory species they’re likely to conjure up images of caribou covering vast expanses of Arctic tundra or endless throngs of wildebeest and zebras thundering across the Serengeti plains. But according to a study conducted by Stephen Blake, a researcher at Max Planck Institute in Germany, Galapagos giant tortoises on the island of Santa Cruz do, in fact, take part in a “classic migration, just played out on a smaller scale.”
According to a recent National Geographic article, Blake and his colleagues put GPS tags on 18 tortoises and conducted monthly population surveys to find that adult males over 20 years old, and some adult females, undertook a migration averaging about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) over the course of two to three weeks. That's 650 to 1,000 feet (200 to 300 meters) each day. The article goes on to state that while not migrating, the tortoise generally only travel about 130 to 160 feet (40 to 50 meters) a day.
The study, which was published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, says that only adult males and some females take part in this slow-moving migration, which begins in the humid highlands of Santa Cruz Island, where the tortoises forage on grass and perennial plants. When the rainy season starts in December, they head to the lowlands, where they feast upon herbs and shrubs. When the rains stop (usually in June or July) and the vegetation starts to dry up, they once again head for the highlands, leaving behind most females and the juveniles, who may remain in the lowlands because they are less equipped to tolerate the colder highland temperatures.
Comments