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Zoo InternQuest is a seven-week career exploration program for San Diego County high school juniors and seniors. Students have the unique opportunity to meet professionals working for the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, and Institute for Conservation Research, learn about their jobs, and then blog about their experience online. Follow their adventures here on the Zoo’s website!
Mr. Peter Gilson is an Educator and Keeper at the Zoo where he takes cares of the reptiles and amphibians at the Zoo and teaches people about them! Mr. Gilson told us that one of the many reasons he loves reptiles is that they look cool and have adapted to weird and extreme environments. One of the unique reptiles Mr. Gilson showed the interns was the Galapagos Tortoise.
Meet Wallace! Wallace is a 120-year-old Galapagos tortoise. Galapagos tortoises are from the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. These tortoises are small enough to fit in your shirt pocket when they are babies, but they grow to be the size of a Great Dane! Even though a Great Dane may be taller, a Galapagos tortoise can weigh as much as 600 lbs, which is 500 lbs heavier than your average Great Dane! While they grow to be giants, it usually takes a Galapagos tortoise 40 to 50 years to mature! They are the largest species of tortoise in the whole world! Their huge size is matched with their huge appetites. A Galapagos tortoise eats mostly mixed greens and will eat as much as you put on its plate; however, they can go nearly a year without eating. Sometimes, the Galapagos tortoises will eat pumpkins or other brightly colored fruits as a treat! Tortoises are attracted to bright colors like orange, yellow, and red because those are the colors of their favorite fruits. What’s your favorite color? The Galapagos tortoises also have a super cool adaptation called the Finch Response! The tortoise will stand up tall and extend its neck to catch the attention of a Galapagos finch. The finch will then swoop down and eat the parasites that are on the tortoise and keep the tortoise nice and healthy. This is an example of a symbiotic relationship, which means that the interaction is good for both the tortoise and the finch.
These awesome animals need your help! Galapagos tortoises are classified as an endangered species. Juvenile tortoises are very vulnerable and are constantly threatened by hawks, pigs, cats, dogs and rats. Many of these predators were actually introduced to the islands by humans. You can help the Galapagos tortoises by donating to organizations such as the Galapagos Conservancy, or by visiting the San Diego Zoo where they are working to rehabilitate the Galapagos Tortoise population. You can also help the tortoises at home by reusing your old pudding cup or fruit cup to make your very own Galapagos tortoise.
You can make your own Wallace the Galapagos tortoise at home!
Objective: Children will be encouraged to reuse and recycle and the positive effect those actions have on the environment. Children will also learn the responsibilities of caring for a live plant.
Materials:
Mr. Peter Gilson is an Educator and Keeper at the Zoo where he takes cares of the reptiles and amphibians at the Zoo and teaches people about them! Mr. Gilson told us that one of the many reasons he loves reptiles is that they look cool and have adapted to weird and extreme environments. One of the unique reptiles Mr. Gilson showed the interns was the Galapagos Tortoise.
Meet Wallace! Wallace is a 120-year-old Galapagos tortoise. Galapagos tortoises are from the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. These tortoises are small enough to fit in your shirt pocket when they are babies, but they grow to be the size of a Great Dane! Even though a Great Dane may be taller, a Galapagos tortoise can weigh as much as 600 lbs, which is 500 lbs heavier than your average Great Dane! While they grow to be giants, it usually takes a Galapagos tortoise 40 to 50 years to mature! They are the largest species of tortoise in the whole world! Their huge size is matched with their huge appetites. A Galapagos tortoise eats mostly mixed greens and will eat as much as you put on its plate; however, they can go nearly a year without eating. Sometimes, the Galapagos tortoises will eat pumpkins or other brightly colored fruits as a treat! Tortoises are attracted to bright colors like orange, yellow, and red because those are the colors of their favorite fruits. What’s your favorite color? The Galapagos tortoises also have a super cool adaptation called the Finch Response! The tortoise will stand up tall and extend its neck to catch the attention of a Galapagos finch. The finch will then swoop down and eat the parasites that are on the tortoise and keep the tortoise nice and healthy. This is an example of a symbiotic relationship, which means that the interaction is good for both the tortoise and the finch.
These awesome animals need your help! Galapagos tortoises are classified as an endangered species. Juvenile tortoises are very vulnerable and are constantly threatened by hawks, pigs, cats, dogs and rats. Many of these predators were actually introduced to the islands by humans. You can help the Galapagos tortoises by donating to organizations such as the Galapagos Conservancy, or by visiting the San Diego Zoo where they are working to rehabilitate the Galapagos Tortoise population. You can also help the tortoises at home by reusing your old pudding cup or fruit cup to make your very own Galapagos tortoise.
You can make your own Wallace the Galapagos tortoise at home!
Objective: Children will be encouraged to reuse and recycle and the positive effect those actions have on the environment. Children will also learn the responsibilities of caring for a live plant.
Materials:
- An old fruit or pudding cup
- Green paint
- Dirt
- Seeds
- Pompoms
- Googly Eyes
- Glue
