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The Difference Between Turtles and Tortoises

03/23/17 | Ecuador, Galapagos, photography, Travel, Wildlife

Gala?pagos Green Turtle

Hi and welcome to almost Friday! I hope you are not sick of animal pictures from South America yet because I have more than a few to share with you today along with what I hope are a few fun facts! I have used the turtle emoji a ton in the past few weeks but to describe very, very different animals – the first is the Galapagos Green Turtle and the second is the Galapagos Giant Tortoise but neither of which are really green. 

Let’s first start with the Galápagos Green Turtle that I actually did not officially know the name of until I got home – I called them sea turtles for an entire week but at least everyone knew what I was talking about!  The first few times we saw them they were floating on the surface of the ocean, only looking like I shadow blob, so it was not until we got in the water with them – an opportunity my family and I had a few occasions – that we were able to really admire their beauty! Here are a few shots I was able to capture on my underwater camera: 

The Gala?pagos Green TurtleGala?pagos Green Turtle with Fish

Diving with the Gala?pagos Green TurtleSwimming with Gala?pagos Green Turtle
You can see my brother in the two photos above that where he is filming the sea turtles with his GoPro.  I have more than 200 clips to go through and while I am comfortable with most of the Adobe Creative suite editing film is definitely not one of my strong suits so this will be a fun learning experience.  (Though I have to saw rewatching penguins swimming back and forth is pretty fun). Take a look at the first clip I edited to give you a sense of just what it as like to swim with them! 

Do you really need two turtle videos?  No.  But since this is going to be only posts about these beautiful creatures take a look at this second clip and if you can, turn the sound on – my brother talking to the turtle is pretty dang funny. 

 
 
 
Comparatively the Galapagos Giant Tortoise is ENORMOUS.  They can weight four times a normal adult male (900+ pounds!) and they never stop growing until the day they die.  After so many quick encounters with birds, sea lions, whales, and penguins I was actually thrilled to be near an animal that moved so slowly and I think that is why I got so up close and personal.  I still maintained my 6 feet of distance but with a zoom lens was able to really get into the odd details of these not-so-attractive creatures faces.  Over the course of my visit around the islands I saw dome shell and saddleback shell Galápagos tortoises though don’t ask me which is which in the photos below. 

 

These photos of different tortoises were taken at a few locations, the Centro de Crianza de Tortugas Terrestres, El Chato Tortoise Reserve, and the Charles Darwin Research Station, all of which are working to preserve the Galapagos Giant Tortoise.  This is a huge under taking since the population went from half a million to only 3,000 in the 1970s but they are slowly coming back with these sanctuary’s raising babies until they are seven or eight and then releasing them back into the wild! 

Head of a Galapagos Giant TortoiseYoung Galapagos Giant Tortoise Two Galapagos Giant TortoisesGalapagos Giant TortoiseSuper Diego Galapagos Giant Tortoise

^ Though he may not look like it in this photo this is Super Diego at the Charles Darwin Research Station.  Over the last 40 years he has helped bring his specific bread of Galapagos Giant Tortoises, the Española Tortoises, back from near extinction  (there were only 16 left!!) by fathering to over 1,700 babies since his return from the San Diego Zoo in the 1970’s. 

Galapagos Giant Tortoise WalkingGalapagos Giant Tortoise Through TreesClose Up of Galapagos Giant Tortoise

Even though the big ones were definitely more fun to photograph I loved getting to see the little giant tortoises – the two year old below is smaller than a leaf of lettuce, and at age five, shown in the second photo below, a Galapagos Giant Tortoise is still not much bigger than your average rock! 

Baby Galapagos Giant Tortoise3 Year Old Galapagos Giant Tortoise

This is the last picture and then I promise I am done with the little green guys for a while – at first I was mad the photo below is out of focus but now I am actually happy it centers on the most important part – the Galapagos Giant Tortoise! 

Posing with a Galapagos Giant Tortoise

Which do you prefer, turtle of tortoise? 

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Comments

  1. Linda Manns Linneman says

    July 16, 2017 at 5:28 pm

    These are beautiful. They look like a piece of art with the beautiful markings. They are also huge. These had to be awesome to be able to see in person. Thank you so much for sharing. Beautiful pictures

  2. importance of education says

    March 27, 2017 at 4:45 am

    Wow that was strange. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say fantastic blog!

  3. Pam says

    March 23, 2017 at 6:37 pm

    The videos were great. Such clarity of the water.

  4. Soraya says

    March 23, 2017 at 8:14 am

    Curioso e interesante el post

    https://simplysory.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/granny-maxi-scarf/

  5. Martin says

    March 23, 2017 at 8:01 am

    There is a problem with video but now I get difference between turtle and tortoises. Thank you so much.

    • Kelly says

      March 24, 2017 at 9:51 pm

      Thank you Martin for letting me know about the video! I switched the format and they should be working now!

  6. Elle sees says

    March 23, 2017 at 7:22 am

    I couldn’t get the videos to play–they were really really huge. Might just be my browser. My dad was a scuba diver so I remember learning about the turtles from a very young age.

    • Kelly says

      March 24, 2017 at 9:49 pm

      Thanks for letting me know, Elle! I uploaded them to YouTube instead and they seem to be working now! Sorry for the trouble!

Hi, I am Kelly and welcome to Sparkles and Shoes, a fashion, travel, and lifestyle blog founded in 2012.  After six years of living in London I am back in New York with my husband and two littles! 

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