Giant tortoise makes 'miraculous' stable recovery (BBC)
By Jonathan Webb
Science reporter, BBC News
Where once there were 15, now more than 1,000 giant tortoises lumber around Espanola, one of the Galapagos Islands.
After 40 years' work reintroducing captive animals, a detailed study of the island's ecosystem has confirmed it has a stable, breeding population.
Numbers had dwindled drastically by the 1960s, but now the danger of extinction on Espanola appears to have passed.
Galapagos tortoises, of which there are 11 remaining subspecies, weigh up to 250kg and live longer than 100 years.
The study, based on decades of observations of the variety found on Espanola, was published in the journal Plos One.
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more: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29801967
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0110742
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Any testudo aubreii? 
