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Yes—the Fernandina giant tortoise lineage, long known from a single specimen collected in 1906, survived. In 2019, an expedition found a female tortoise on Fernandina Island in the Galápagos. Scientists later compared her genome with the 1906 specimen and confirmed that both belonged to the same distinct lineage. The discovery established that the lineage was not extinct; it did not show that a healthy population remained.
What happened on Fernandina Island?
In 2019, a joint expedition involving the Galápagos National Park Directorate and Galápagos Conservancy found a lone female giant tortoise on Fernandina Island, a volcanic island in the Galápagos. The animal was nicknamed Fernanda. Animal Planet host Forrest Galante also took part in the expedition, which was associated with the series Extinct or Alive. The television project was part of the discovery story, but the later genetic study—not the program—confirmed the tortoise’s lineage. Warner Bros. Discovery’s 2019 announcement promoted the find as a rediscovery after 113 years.
Why was the tortoise thought extinct?
Before Fernanda was found, the only known specimen associated with the Fernandina giant tortoise was a male collected during the California Academy of Sciences expedition of 1905–06. The animal’s unusual appearance had left questions about whether it truly represented a native Fernandina lineage or might have come from another island. With no further confirmed tortoises known for more than a century, the lineage was considered lost or possibly extinct.
Fernanda did not look so clearly like the historical specimen that appearance alone could settle the question. Researchers needed to test whether the two animals were related to the same lineage.
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How did DNA confirm Fernanda’s identity?
In a peer-reviewed study published in Communications Biology in 2022, researchers sequenced the full genomes of Fernanda and the 1906 museum specimen and compared them with genomes from other Galápagos giant tortoise lineages. The analysis grouped the two Fernandina specimens together in a distinct lineage, separate from the other lineages included in the comparison. The result confirmed that the Fernandina lineage had survived. The study’s conclusion was that Chelonoidis phantasticus was not extinct.
This finding means Fernanda and the historical male belonged to the same lineage; it does not establish that the male was her direct ancestor. When the study was published, the authors described Fernanda as the only known living individual of that lineage.
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Why do reports say 112 years and 113 years?
Both figures refer to the gap between the historical specimen’s collection in 1906 and Fernanda’s discovery in 2019. Galápagos Conservancy’s 2021 report called it 112 years, while the 2019 television announcement used 113 years. The difference reflects how the interval was counted, not a disagreement about the key dates. Naming the endpoints makes the timeline clear: the known specimen dates to 1906, and Fernanda was found in 2019. Galápagos Conservancy’s report also describes the genetic confirmation.
Did the search find more tortoises?
A follow-up search in November 2019 did not locate another tortoise. Ten groups of scientists and park rangers searched for six days, but poor weather prevented them from completing the planned survey. Teams found trails and feces, which indicated possible tortoise activity, but these traces did not confirm another animal. Galápagos Conservancy’s account of the search reports both the traces and the unsuccessful effort to find an additional tortoise.
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Those signs leave open the possibility that other tortoises were on the island, but the evidence described here does not establish how many—if any—were present. Nor does it establish Fernanda’s current health or status. The confirmed population figure in the 2022 paper was one known living individual at the time of publication.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the discovery mean for conservation?
Finding one survivor matters because it shows the lineage was not entirely lost, but a lone known animal is not a recovered population. Establishing whether other tortoises survive on the island would be important to understanding the lineage’s prospects.
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Galápagos Conservancy describes broader threats to giant tortoises across the archipelago: people historically exploited tortoises for food and oil, while introduced animals can prey on eggs and hatchlings or damage habitat. The organization also describes captive breeding and rearing as tools used in recovery programs for other island populations. That wider conservation work provides context, but it should not be mistaken for evidence that Fernanda’s lineage had already recovered. Galápagos Conservancy’s restoration overview explains those archipelago-wide efforts.
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