In the 19th century, populations of giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands were decimated by whalers and pirates, who kept and killed tortoises on their ships as a resilient source of fresh meat for long ocean voyages. Particularly hard-hit were “saddlebacked” species that inhabited the islands’ arid lowlands closer to the coasts. Of the five saddlebacked species, two have been declared extinct: Chelonoidis elephantopus from Floreana Island and C. abingdonii from Pinta…
