How hard is it to reintroduce species to a tropical island? Turns out, pretty hard! But it’s so worth it. The rewilding of the Galapagos island of Floreana will make it the largest tropical island ever to be rewilded. Researchers have spent over a decade meticulously planning for the reintroduction of the iconic Floreana Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis niger niger). Once thought to be extinct, this species, along with eleven other locally extinct endemic animal species, are part of a reintroduction project that has involved the massive task of eradication of introduced predators, as well as the purposeful inclusion of the local population throughout the planning process. This month, Bill and Steve are completely out of their depth, discussing the project with three staff members from Fundación Jocotoco, one of the organizations leading the charge to Rewild Floreana.

This episode’s special guests are Paola Sangolquí, Jocotoco’s Galapagos Program Marine Coordinator, Julieta Muñoz, Conservation Strategy Manager, and Jajean Rose-Burney, the Director of Jocotoco US.

The episode was recorded in New York, NY on September 23, 2024.

Episode Notes and Links

Visit Fundación Jocotoco’s Rewilding Floreana website.

Here’s where you can donate to support the project. Please contact Jajean at 1 (716) 247-1255 or jajean.rose@jocotoco.org if you have any questions about how to donate.

Steve, Daniel, and Bill would like to shout out extra special thanks to our patrons for making this episode a reality!

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Photo Credit

Floreana giant tortoise photo © Agustín Molina - https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/floreana-giant-tortoise-reintroduction/

Visit thefieldguidespodcast.com for full episode notes, links, and works cited.