One quarter of the 2,900 species on the Galapagos Islands – including the giant tortoise – are endemic to the archipelago.
SANTA CRUZ, Ecuador: When the coronavirus pandemic reached South America human activity on the Galapagos Islands, in the Pacific west of Ecuador, ground almost to a halt, leaving giant tortoises, iguanas and other endemic species to themselves.
A four-month lockdown starting in February 2020 after Covid-19 was first detected in the region resulted in a total halt of tourism and near complete shutdown of scientific research.
“The impact of Covid was very tough .. the shutdown was immediate, from one day to the next,” complained Juan Carlos Moncayo, 50, who runs a scuba diving center and had to make his six employees redundant.
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