Isabella is the home of several subspecies of giant Tortoises. It is also home to one of the settled communities in the Galapagos. The pet dogs & cats are threatening the continued existence of the giant tortoises because they attack baby tortoises. For these reasons, there is an ecological preserve that functions as a 'hatchery' for the giant tortoises.
Our guide was a very enthusiastic Galapagos native who took great pride in Ecuador's efforts to protect the giant tortoises. In the photo he is holding a tortoise egg and the assistant is holding a 4 month old baby tortoise. They collect the eggs & put them in incubators, adjusting the temperature to produce more female tortoises than males. Tortoise gender is apparently determined by the incubating heat and warmer temps produce more females than males. The difference is only about 2 degrees. They are producing more females because of the population decline and they need fewer males to impregnate many females. They keep the small babies in wire cages so that predators cannot eat them before they grow up.
This preserve also has injured tortoises. The one pictures was burned in a fire on Isabella a number of years ago. The scars on the carapace are permanent.
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