More than one hundred tortoises babies have been stolen from the Arnaldo Tupiza breeding center located on Isabela island of the Galapagos Archipelago, the environment ministry confirmed. The hatchlings belonged to two species, the Cerro Azul giant tortoise (Chelonoidis vicina) and Sierra Negra giant tortoise (Chelonoidis guntheri), both listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Authorities in Ecuador have confirmed that 123 baby giant tortoises were stolen from the Arnaldo Tupiza breeding center on Isabela, the largest island of the Galápagos, on the night of September 24th. The Arnaldo Tupiza breeding center, established in 1993, is one of three tortoise centers in the Galápagos (the other two are located in the Santa Cruz and San Cristobal islands) created to help restore giant tortoise numbers in the wild. All three facilities are managed by the Galápagos National Park Directorate.

An investigation has been opened into the theft, which could see the perpetrators receive a prison sentence of up to 10 years if caught. They were all taken at once, 123 in all, due to the breeding center from which the tortoises were taken has little in the way of security, with no cameras or light sensors to catch or deter thieves.

Giant tortoises are preyed on by wildlife traffickers; 26 Galapagos tortoises were seized in an operation carried out on April 17, 2017 on the road between Piura and Sullana, in Peru. The specimens were in the cellars of a bus of an international tourist transport company that covers the route between Ecuador and Peru. These seized tortoises (Chelonoidis nigra) were returned and returned to their habitat last June.