Look at the size of the Galapagos Domed Giant Tortoise
Author: Robin Eluvathingal | Major: Biochemistry | Semester: Spring 2025
This past January Intersession I had the opportunity to study abroad in the Galapagos as part of the University of Arkansas Faculty Led Expedition: Galapagos: Exploring Darwin’s Legacy. The course took the span of 12 days, with 9 being in the Galapagos archipelago and 3 in mainland Ecuador. The study abroad course is a bit unusual for a biochemistry major. Most of the students were part of animal science or sustainability, but the reason for my joining was the same as everyone else: the animals. The Galapagos is famous for its biodiversity that inspired Darwin to come up with the theory of evolution, but did you know, it was not until after Darwin returned to England that he realized the importance of what he saw? I can imagine why. Our time at the islands was one wonder followed by another, it was not until I returned to the cold winter of Arkansas that the wonder of what I had seen really occurred to me.
I originally applied for the course because of the giant tortoises that are endemic to the archipelago. One of the mainstays of the islands, the different subspecies of the galapagos giant tortoise regularly live 100+ years, one of the few animals in the world that do such a thing, and a rarity among humans. As someone who wants to study the mechanisms of aging as a researcher, the opportunity to study these animals in the Galapagos was a rare opportunity: I had to study abroad as part of this program.
Shortly after arriving on the islands, one of the very first activities of the program was visiting El Chato, a giant tortoise ranch on the island of Santa Cruz in the galapagos. As a result of conservation efforts in the galapagos, there were so many tortoises! I must have seen almost 50 by myself in the short time we were there. What surprised me was that for the tortoises to reach their characteristic giant size, they must be at a minimum, 70 to 80 years old, though many of the tortoises we saw must be around 100 years old according to Gustavo, our guide. That means some of those tortoises were older than my grandparents!
While at the ranch we also visited lava tunnels that ran underneath the ranches and were largely undisturbed; they had unique geology due to the age and formation of the islands and the lack of major earthquake activity had left the tunnels largely untouched. Since we had spent the morning flying to islands, and since the ranch took a lot of time, we only had the one activity planned. The group did, however, agree to meet for dinner in the town of Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz.
The dinner was one of the unique experiences of taking a course on a study abroad as opposed to on campus at the U of A (aside from the obvious experiences of the study abroad itself): I was able to talk and connect with my professors and classmates differently than I would have as part of an on campus course. At first it seemed like it would be a challenge always being “on”, but I quickly realized there was no need. My regular demeanor was plenty “classroom friendly” and my professors and fellow students were very easy to get along with. As part of the down time I already knew I would get to know my classmates well, but I was also able to get to know my professors more than I would have in the classroom; they were there for the same reason as us, to learn more about the animals of the Galapagos.
The program had many moments like this, but before I reach the limit of the blog and your patience, I want to at least mention the rest of the program. The remainder of our time on Santa Cruz was spent hiking to the pristine white sands of Tortuga Bay for some kayaking and watching the wildlife of the bay before hiking back, but not before cutting our feet on the coral and lava rocks out in the bay (ouch!). The next morning we had free time to explore the islands and recover before taking a boat to the Island of Floreana with a population of less than 200 people. There we stayed in various houses run by the community and were served the best of local seafood by the residents of Floreana. The snorkeling around Floreana is one of the best, and we were able to see lots of Galapagos Green Turtles, endemic to the islands and the only species to nest on the archipelago. We also visited the highlands of Floreana and learned of the history of the island’s settlers before taking a boat to the largest island of Isabella the following morning. On Isabella we visited the Volcano Sierra Negra before biking downhill towards the tortoise breeding center that was established on the island to help replenish the tortoise population. The following day we snorkeled in Los Túneles and Tintoreras where we saw rays, turtles, sea horses, and the galapagos penguin.
The following day we prepared to leave the galapagos and fly back to the capital of Quito in mainland ecuador for lessons in ecuadorian culture, food, and astronomy unique to the equatorial country.
I highly recommend that anyone with the opportunity to take the Galapagos: Exploring Darwin’s Legacy course to do so. This blog post is far too brief and far too shallow to convey the depth and breadth of experiences given by the program.
We jokingly said during our program that each day was so full of stuff it felt like a week. How true that was.