A Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) moves slowly past a tourist who takes the opportunity to shoot a close-up photograph of the rare reptile that is native to the Galapagos Islands (Archipiélago de Colón), a province of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America. Those 20 islands and their tortoises were made famous by English naturalist Charles Darwin, who formulated his theory of evolution based on his visit to the Galapagos in 1835. Today the 15 species of those enormous tortoises are estimated to number 20,000 to 25,000.

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A Galapagos giant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra) moves slowly past a tourist who takes the opportunity to shoot a close-up photograph of the rare reptile that is native to the Galapagos Islands (Archipiélago de Colón), a province of Ecuador in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of South America. Those 20 islands and their tortoises were made famous by English naturalist Charles Darwin, who formulated his theory of evolution based on his visit to the Galapagos in1835. Today the 15 species of those enormous tortoises are estimated to number 20,000 to 25,000 and have been given protection since 1959 with the establishment of the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation.

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Size: 2676px × 3300px
Location: Gapapagos Islands, Ecuador, South America
Photo credit: © Michele and Tom Grimm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: Yes

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