Galápagos approves manual for the management of the David Rodríguez Breeding Center

The Galápagos National Park Directorate approved and issued the “Procedure Manual of the David Rodríguez Land Tortoise Breeding Center,” through Resolution No. MAE-PNG/DIR-2026-0047-RM, signed in Santa Cruz on September 22, 2026, and published in the Second Supplement of the Official Registry No. 386 on Thursday, October 8, 2026. The document standardizes the management, monitoring, and reintroduction of the giant tortoises of San Cristóbal and is of mandatory application for the center’s staff.

A technical instrument of mandatory application

Article 1 of the resolution approves and issues the manual, which is attached as an annex and forms an integral part of the administrative act. Article 2 declares it an institutional technical instrument of mandatory application for the management and operation of the breeding center located in the San Cristóbal canton, Galápagos province.

The execution, socialization, training, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation are the responsibility of the San Cristóbal Technical Operational Directorate. Publication in the Official Registry corresponds to the Administrative Financial Directorate, and dissemination on the institutional website to the Directorate of Environmental Education and Social Participation.

The manual is based on technical report DPNG-UTSC-ECO-2026-003, submitted with memorandum MAE-DPNG/UTSC-2026-0201-ME on September 2, 2026, and has the prior endorsement of the Ecosystems Directorate (memorandum MAE-DPNG/DE-2026-0751-ME). The resolution was signed by Mgs. Pablo Augusto Sánchez Hidalgo, Director of the Galápagos National Park, appointed via Personnel Action DPNG-UATH-0563-2026 on September 14, 2026.

History and population of the breeding center

The center operates at the Cerro Colorado Tortoise Reserve, 22.5 km from Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, with land access of approximately 40 minutes by bus. It opened its doors on August 10, 2002, with 20 specimens transferred in July of that year from the natural tortoise reserve of Punta Pit.

• Through Resolution No. 0098 of August 8, 2016, the site was named the “David Rodríguez Land Tortoise Breeding Center,” in recognition of park ranger David Alberto Rodríguez Lucas, with 39 years of service.
• The species cared for is the San Cristóbal giant tortoise (Chelonoidis chathamensis), with an estimated population of 3,899 individuals.
• The center houses 56 adult tortoises and 78 juveniles, according to data from June 2023, and has produced 124 juveniles in its population recovery process.
• The tortoise Génesis, the first born at the center on April 11, 2005, remains there due to her historical value and will not be repatriated.

Management, incubation, and repatriation protocols

The manual details the routines of the park ranger, technical, volunteer, and scholarship staff. Feeding is based on otoy and porotillo, with 100 kg daily on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 07:30 and 09:00, and it is prohibited to provide any other plant species.

• Incubation: between 90 and 120 days, with a controlled temperature of 28 to 29.5 °C and monitoring every three hours.
• Hatching: between March and May; spawning extends from July to November.
• Repatriation: from five years of age, with a veterinary certificate and a 40-day quarantine.
• Surveillance: seven cameras distributed in pens and access points, within the 12 hectares of the center.
• Visitors: hours from 07:00 to 18:00.

Implementation Deadlines

The transitional provisions establish three deadlines counted from the issuance of the resolution:

• 30 days for the socialization of the manual and the implementation of forms and records.
• 30 days for the training of center personnel on technical issues and information recording.
• 120 days for the monitoring and evaluation of its practical application, after which a technical report will be submitted to the highest authority.

The resolution entered into force on the day of its issuance, without prejudice to its publication in the Official Registry.

The manual arrives a month and a half after the same Directorate approved the equivalent instrument for the Arnaldo Tupiza Chamaidán center, in Isabela (Resolution MAE-PNG/DIR-2026-0042-RM, Official Registry No. 354 of August 25, 2026). With both documents, the environmental authority standardizes the captive management of the archipelago’s giant tortoises, a key step for the conservation of an endemic species and for the tourism activity that depends on it.

Source: Official Registry, Second Supplement No. 386, Thursday, October 8, 2026, p. 2 (official reference: Resolution No. MAE-PNG/DIR-2026-0047-RM).