For 150 years, Galápagos giant tortoises have been considered extinct on Floreana Island. A team of researchers and a group of conservationists recently released 158 tortoises into the wild on the island in the Galápagos archipelago. The goal is to eventually release 700 tortoises. The animals are intended to repopulate the island. These so-called hybrid tortoises were also bred from the genetic material of the long-extinct tortoise species Chelonoidis niger niger, which was originally native to Floreana Island. You can find the Spiegel article here.

To monitor and analyze the animals' movements, transmitters and antennas produced using cable processing machines from Zoller + Fröhlich GmbH are being used. The use of this tracking technology also makes it possible to protect the animals and preserve valuable habitats.

Special thanks go to the researchers and animal rights activists on site, as well as Dr. Franz Freyberger from the Technical University of Munich, who, with his team, has significantly advanced the project.

Picture: Dolores Ochoa / AP