Which Ecuadorian national park is known for the giant tortoises?

Galápagos National Park is the Ecuadorian national park known for its giant tortoises. Established in 1959, it protects most of the Galápagos archipelago and provides habitat for multiple island-specific tortoise populations.

Galápagos tortoises are the largest living tortoise species, with some individuals weighing more than 400 kilograms and living for over a century. Their shells and body shapes vary between islands: tortoises from humid highlands often have domed shells, while those from drier islands may have saddleback shells and longer necks.

The islands’ giant tortoises became globally famous partly through Charles Darwin’s 1835 observations during the voyage of the Beagle. Differences among island populations helped inform his thinking about adaptation and evolution. Human exploitation, habitat change, and introduced animals caused severe historical declines, but conservation programs have supported breeding, monitoring, and reintroduction.

A common mix-up is treating “the Galápagos tortoise” as one completely uniform animal. It is better understood as a group of distinct island populations and subspecies, several of which remain threatened.