Arriving from mainland South America 2-3 million years ago, the most famous resident of the Galapagos Islands is the Galapagos giant tortoise. In fact, the islands were named after the giant tortoises’ saddle-shaped shells – galapágo is an old Spanish word for saddle. Today there are 11 species of giant tortoises left in the Galapagos Islands. Their population is currently estimated at between 30,000 and 35,000 individuals.
Package 1
- Personalized certificate of sponsorship (digital)
- Welcome letter (digital)
- Information leaflet on the species (digital)
Package 2
- Everything from Package 1,
- PLUS a set of 5 postcards
- of a species in a printable format
Package 3
- Everything from Package 2,
- PLUS CDF baseball hat
*Please note that we can only ship to the US and Canadian addresses.
We will make shipments once per month.
How does your sponsorship help?
By sponsoring Galapagos giant tortoises, you will be able to learn more about this emblematic species, while contributing to the research and outreach activities of the Charles Darwin Foundation. The tortoises have become threatened largely due to habitat change and fragmentation, climate change, diseases and introduced species. CDF is part of the multi-institutional project that aims to determine movement behavior, assess health and describe the ecological role of tortoises in the Galapagos ecosystems.
Discover more about this species:
Scientists discover novel viruses in Galapagos giant tortoises
