Excerpt and Photo from islandconservation.org
The observations Charles Darwin made during his 1835 visit to the Galápagos Islands give us a snapshot of what the archipelago looked like almost 200 years ago. He recorded the presence of a small, secretive bird on Floreana Island: the Galápagos Rail (Laterallus spilonota). After his visit, it was never seen on the island again—until now.
Just two years ago, our team partnered with the Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos (DPNG), Galapagos Biosecurity Agency (ABG), Fundación Jocotoco, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) to launch the large-scale Floreana Island Restoration Project. By removing invasive species that devastated native wildlife for generations, we’ve created a safe environment for species to recover and once again thrive.
The Galápagos Rail, a land-bird endemic to the archipelago, has been severely impacted by invasive species. It dwells on the ground, where it is extremely vulnerable to predators and relies on dense, lush vegetation to hide in. But, despite its Near-Threatened conservation status, it is a resilient and resourceful little bird.