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Photo Story by Loren Kallevig
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The story is about Galapagos Tortoise.
The Galapagos Tortoise is an endangered species with only about 1200 still
alive, and these comprise several different species!
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All photos are taken by
Loren Kallevig at La Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, Galapagos.
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| Our trip to the San Cristobal Galapagos Galapaguera
had to be postponed because it was raining in the morning. But by noon the
skies were clear and fortified by a good lunch and plenty of chocolate, we
headed for The Highlands in the all purpose Galapagos transport, a four
passanger pickup taxi. Our party is comprised of my wife, Luisa, daughter,
Fernanda, our driver, Cristobal, and me.
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| This particular Galapaguera is named
La Galapaguera de Cerro Colorado, and is located on the far side (about 30 km)
of San Cristobal's only town, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. Pto B. Moreno has about
5000 people and is the Capital of Galapagos. Our objective is to explore the
feasibility of installing a series of cameras at La Galapaguera to continululsy
photograph the tortoises and display the live camara feeds to the school
children of the World. The requirements are basically two: 1) electric power
for the cameras, and 2), bandwidth to transport the photos to the SolarQuest
web servers in California.
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When we arrived at La Galapaguera, the ranger
proudly pointed out the newest resident, the first tortoise born at this
Galapaguera.
He told us there had been three eggs, but that two were eaten by ants.
Ants are one of the introduced species that are causing endemic species a lot
of trouble.
They are part of a long list including rats and most common domestic animals.
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Habitat competition is probably the
most significant problem, but predation is also high on the list.
Because of these problems, the Galapagos Tortoise is an endangered species with
only about 1200 still alive, and these comprise several different species.
The gene pool for each species is very small, so even the captive breeding
programs and careful husbandry may not be enough to save these animals from
extintion.
We found several of La Galapaguera's twenty six tortoises within camera range
and enjoyed our walk through their habitat.
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We turned our attention to electric
power, and were told that the power line ends a few kilomoters from La
Galapaguera.
The Rangers then showed us the solar electric generating system, and informed
us that it had been in place for about two years, but has yet to be turned on
due to a lack of funds to buy batteries.
There is currently no electric power at La Galapaguera. At a minimum it will be
necessary to find funds for batteries, and it may be necessary to increase the
solar system capacity.
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A wireless link to Pto. B. Moreno appears possible, but there are many problems
along the way. At least four, possibly as many as seven, relay points would be
necessary due to the number of hills along the way.
For each of these a power source would be required, and the right to either use
existing antenna towers or place new ones would have to be negotiated.
Perhaps the Isla Isabella Galapaguera will provide a less complex challenge. I
am looking forward to surveying that sitel.
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