During
The Breeding Season, When The Male And Female Are Together,
The Male Utters A Hoarse Roar Or Bellowing, Which,
It is said,
can be heard at the distance of more than a hundred yards.
The female never uses her
Voice, and the male only at these
times; so that when the people hear this noise, they know
that the two are together. They were at this time (October)
laying their eggs. The female, where the soil is sandy, deposits
them together, and covers them up with sand; but
where the ground is rocky she drops them indiscriminately
in any hole: Mr. Bynoe found seven placed in a fissure. The
egg is white and spherical; one which I measured was seven
inches and three-eighths in circumference, and therefore
larger than a hen's egg. The young tortoises, as soon as they
are hatched, fall a prey in great numbers to the carrion-
feeding buzzard. The old ones seem generally to die from
accidents, as from falling down precipices: at least, several
of the inhabitants told me, that they never found one dead
without some evident cause.
The inhabitants believe that these animals are absolutely
deaf; certainly they do not overhear a person walking close
behind them. I was always amused when overtaking one of
these great monsters, as it was quietly pacing along, to see
how suddenly, the instant I passed, it would draw in its head
and legs, and uttering a deep hiss fall to the ground with a
heavy sound, as if struck dead. I frequently got on their
backs, and then giving a few raps on the hinder part of their
shells, they would rise up and walk away; - but I found it
very difficult to keep my balance. The flesh of this animal is
largely employed, both fresh and salted; and a beautifully
clear oil is prepared from the fat. When a tortoise is caught,
the man makes a slit in the skin near its tail, so as to see
inside its body, whether the fat under the dorsal plate is
thick. If it is not, the animal is liberated and it is said to
recover soon from this strange operation. In order to secure
the tortoise, it is not sufficient to turn them like turtle, for
they are often able to get on their legs again.
There can be little doubt that this tortoise is an aboriginal
inhabitant of the Galapagos; for it is found on all, or nearly
all, the islands, even on some of the smaller ones where there
is no water; had it been an imported species, this would
hardly have been the case in a group which has been so little
frequented. Moreover, the old Bucaniers found this tortoise
in greater numbers even than at present: Wood and Rogers
also, in 1708, say that it is the opinion of the Spaniards, that
it is found nowhere else in this quarter of the world. It is
now widely distributed; but it may be questioned whether
it is in any other place an aboriginal.
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