158 giant tortoises reintroduced to a Galapagos island in Ecuador

Ecuador's Environment Ministry said on Friday more than 150 giant tortoises have been reintroduced to Floreana Island in Galapagos archipelago where they disappeared more than a century ago.

The Ministry said the released tortoises come from a breeding center of the Galapagos National Park, where a specialized program was developed using tortoises with a high genetic load of the island's endemic species that was found on Isabela island. Each tortoise underwent an extensive quarantine and was microchipped for identification before their release, it said.