FUNDACIÓN CHARLES DARWIN - ESTACIÓN CIENTÍFICA

The famous Charles DarwinFoundationwas established in 1959 under the patronage of UNESCO and IUCN (World Conservation Union). With funding from UNESCO and the Ecuadorian government, construction of the foundation began in 1960 and it was officially inaugurated in 1964. Its main functions are scientific information, conservation of marine and plant species, reptiles and birds through scientific research and complementary actions, development of educational programmes, agricultural development and use of local resources, training of Ecuadorian students and naturalist guides for the park. The foundation also works hand in hand with the local population, fishermen, farmers and tourism professionals. It also participates in the elaboration of regulations and laws that protect the archipelago. In particular, it ensures that the ten species of giant Galapagos tortoises are protected.

Thefoundation's operational tool is the Charles Darwin scientific station established at the same location in Puerto Ayora. An international team of some 200 researchers, educators and volunteers work on this vast programme. The exhibition halls provide a wealth of information about the islands that can be understood by visitors of all ages. In the breeding centre and parks, you will discover the largest turtles in the world, including the famous Galapagos turtle, of which there are only 60,000 individuals left today. The Darwin Station is responsible for the protection and breeding of the breed: the eggs collected on the various islands are incubated and the young turtles are raised until they are 4 years old. They are then brought back to their island of origin. You will also see colonies of iguanas. It is mandatory since 2020, to visit with a guide. An essential visit to know in detail the work of scientists from around the world who come here to study the fauna and flora on the islands. For the anecdote, it is quite funny to know that the center is called Darwin and that he left such an important trace on the archipelago while he will have spent in total only... five weeks in these islands during his world tour! It is all the more funny when you know that biologists have been living there for several decades...

The guide who will accompany you in the station, which looks more like a park, will also show you a number of endemic plants in which many birds frolic.

On November 7, 2021, the new marine research centre opened its doors in a beautiful, completely renovated building. The design of this new complex, called Inspiration, took five years of hard work by local teams supported by one of the foundation's largest donors, a Dutch nature conservation foundation, the COmON Foundation. This new research centre will be used to study, but above all to protect the underwater fauna and flora of the Galapagos, whose underwater reserve is being extended year after year as a result of ministerial decisions often initiated thanks to the efforts of the Charles Darwin Foundation.

The Lonesome George saga. In a temperature-controlled conservation room, you can admire the embalmed Lonesome George turtle. This is the last turtle of its kind, which has become a real myth in the archipelago. Lone George was discovered in 1971 on Pinta Island. After study, it was discovered that he was the last specimen of the species Chelonoidis abingdonii, one of the ten species of giant tortoises of the archipelago. It was then transferred to the Charles Darwin Research Station where scientists tried everything to save the species, notably by having it mate with the nine other local subspecies of giant tortoises. Despite several clutches of eggs, each attempt resulted in failure. Lonesome George finally left this world in 2012, unfortunately without offspring. Tissues and gonads were frozen for possible future artificial insemination to ensure the survival of the species. Today, thanks to science, there is still hope that his species will be reborn one day, but in the meantime, you can come and admire the real and unique Lonesome George whose remains have been embalmed. It is exhibited in a dedicated building, in the heart of the reserve and the scientific centre.

It should be noted that at the end of 2012, we believed in the reappearance of this species since 17 turtles spotted on Isabela Island had a DNA similar to our dear George. Studies finally proved that these turtles were in fact only hybrids and that they only had 50% of the genes of Chelonoidis abingdonii.

More recently, in 2019, a species that was thought to be extinct for a century was discovered on the island of Fernandina, it was named Fernanda and scientists are preparing a new expedition on this island to try to find other members of this species in the hope of being able to save it by reproduction. No doubt that this discovery will not be the last one, observe well around you!