Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Galápagos giant tortoises once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with at least thirteen species. But now some of those species are gone forever and the same forces that doomed those tortoises might have ended up helping save others.
Support the show by getting an Endling pin: https://complexly.store/products/endlings-hourglass-pin
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Galápagos Conservancy: galapagos.org
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org
Quasar Expeditions: quasarex.com/galapagos/animals/giant-tortoises
Thumbnail image by Galápagos Conservancy
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
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#BizarreBeasts #endlings #tortoise
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Sources:
Bush, M. B., Conrad, S., Restrepo, A., Thompson, D. M., Lofverstrom, M., & Conroy, J. L. (2022). Human-induced ecological cascades: extinction, restoration, and rewilding in the Galápagos highlands. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(24), e2203752119. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2203752119
Caccone, A., Gentile, G., Gibbs, J. P., Fritts, T. H., Snell, H. L., Betts, J., & Powell, J. R. (2002). Phylogeography and history of giant Galápagos tortoises. Evolution, 56(10), 2052-2066. iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Caccone_etal_2002.pdf
Conrad, Cyler, and Allen Pastron. "Galapagos tortoises and sea turtles in gold rush-era California." California History 91, no. 2 (2014): 20-39. georgehbalazs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Conrad-and-Pastron-2014-Galapagos-Tortoises-and-Sea-Turtles.pdf
Conrad, C., & Gibbs, J. P. (2021). The era of exploitation: 1535–1959. In Galapagos giant tortoises (pp. 63-81). Academic Press. drive.google.com/file/d/1aZS-j7C-g0q_Ekdiu440YUjWVzJf_HkX/view?usp=sharing
Conrad, Cyler, Kenneth W. Gobalet, Kale Bruner, and Allen G. Pastron. "Hide, tallow and terrapin: Gold rush-era zooarchaeology at Thompson’s cove (CA-SFR-186H), San Francisco, California." International Journal of Historical Archaeology 19, no. 3 (2015): 502-551. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817554-5.00002-2
Jensen, E. L., Gaughran, S. J., Fusco, N. A., Poulakakis, N., Tapia, W., Sevilla, C., ... & Caccone, A. (2022). The Galapagos giant tortoise Chelonoidis phantasticus is not extinct. Communications biology, 5(1), 546. nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03483-w.pdf
Miller, J. M., Quinzin, M. C., Poulakakis, N., Gibbs, J. P., Beheregaray, L. B., Garrick, R. C., ... & Caccone, A. (2017). Identification of genetically important individuals of the rediscovered Floreana Galápagos Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis elephantopus) provides founders for species restoration program. Scientific reports, 7(1), 11471. nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11516-2
Poulakakis, N., Miller, J. M., Jensen, E. L., Beheregaray, L. B., Russello, M. A., Glaberman, S., ... & Caccone, A. (2020). Colonization history of Galapagos giant tortoises: Insights from mitogenomes support the progression rule. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58(4), 1262-1275. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzs.12387
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Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/1wFFrzQV9wiomhVungTrkaiDW5IBVoVlw9P1JRBRvWwU/edit?tab=t.0
Galápagos giant tortoises once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, with at least thirteen species. But now some of those species are gone forever and the same forces that doomed those tortoises might have ended up helping save others.
Support the show by getting an Endling pin: https://complexly.store/products/endlings-hourglass-pin
Endlings portrait illustrations are by Zoe Keller. You can find out more about her and her work here: zoekeller.com
Galápagos Conservancy: galapagos.org
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org
Quasar Expeditions: quasarex.com/galapagos/animals/giant-tortoises
Thumbnail image by Galápagos Conservancy
Follow us on socials:
Instagram: instagram.com/bizarrebeastsshow
Facebook: facebook.com/BizarreBeastsShow
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bizarrebeastsshow.bsky.social
#BizarreBeasts #endlings #tortoise
-----
Sources:
Bush, M. B., Conrad, S., Restrepo, A., Thompson, D. M., Lofverstrom, M., & Conroy, J. L. (2022). Human-induced ecological cascades: extinction, restoration, and rewilding in the Galápagos highlands. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(24), e2203752119. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2203752119
Caccone, A., Gentile, G., Gibbs, J. P., Fritts, T. H., Snell, H. L., Betts, J., & Powell, J. R. (2002). Phylogeography and history of giant Galápagos tortoises. Evolution, 56(10), 2052-2066. iucn-tftsg.org/wp-content/uploads/file/Articles/Caccone_etal_2002.pdf
Conrad, Cyler, and Allen Pastron. "Galapagos tortoises and sea turtles in gold rush-era California." California History 91, no. 2 (2014): 20-39. georgehbalazs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Conrad-and-Pastron-2014-Galapagos-Tortoises-and-Sea-Turtles.pdf
Conrad, C., & Gibbs, J. P. (2021). The era of exploitation: 1535–1959. In Galapagos giant tortoises (pp. 63-81). Academic Press. drive.google.com/file/d/1aZS-j7C-g0q_Ekdiu440YUjWVzJf_HkX/view?usp=sharing
Conrad, Cyler, Kenneth W. Gobalet, Kale Bruner, and Allen G. Pastron. "Hide, tallow and terrapin: Gold rush-era zooarchaeology at Thompson’s cove (CA-SFR-186H), San Francisco, California." International Journal of Historical Archaeology 19, no. 3 (2015): 502-551. doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-817554-5.00002-2
Jensen, E. L., Gaughran, S. J., Fusco, N. A., Poulakakis, N., Tapia, W., Sevilla, C., ... & Caccone, A. (2022). The Galapagos giant tortoise Chelonoidis phantasticus is not extinct. Communications biology, 5(1), 546. nature.com/articles/s42003-022-03483-w.pdf
Miller, J. M., Quinzin, M. C., Poulakakis, N., Gibbs, J. P., Beheregaray, L. B., Garrick, R. C., ... & Caccone, A. (2017). Identification of genetically important individuals of the rediscovered Floreana Galápagos Giant Tortoise (Chelonoidis elephantopus) provides founders for species restoration program. Scientific reports, 7(1), 11471. nature.com/articles/s41598-017-11516-2
Poulakakis, N., Miller, J. M., Jensen, E. L., Beheregaray, L. B., Russello, M. A., Glaberman, S., ... & Caccone, A. (2020). Colonization history of Galapagos giant tortoises: Insights from mitogenomes support the progression rule. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 58(4), 1262-1275. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jzs.12387
------
Images:
docs.google.com/document/d/1wFFrzQV9wiomhVungTrkaiDW5IBVoVlw9P1JRBRvWwU/edit?tab=t.0
