Don’t set your watch to the migration timetable of the Galápagos giant tortoise—it doesn’t follow a predictable schedule the way so many other animal migrations do. Scientists first tracked the migration of giant tortoises in the Galápagos Islands in 2013, and they’ve discovered that not only is it marvelously slow, it’s kind of erratic, and flies in the face of human understanding as to why and how most animals migrate. Only the older tortoises make the roughly 6-mile climb out of the soggy jungle up into the hills—in this case, the slopes of Alcedo Volcano on Isabela Island. The journey is loosely related to mating, but researchers think there may be many other unknown variables at play. Whatever compelled these two lumbering giants up here, in about six months, they’ll start the slow climb back down to the jungle.
A long, erratic commute
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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‘Think equal, build smart, innovate for change’
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Yabba-Dabba-Doo!
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‘Hello’ from zero degrees longitude
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Flamenco dancers
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Friendship Day in the City of Brotherly Love
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It’s Giving Tuesday
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Après-ski in the Dolomites
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World Maritime Day
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A species worth defending
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Wind Cave National Park celebrates 120 years
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Penguin Awareness Day
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National Park Week begins
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Computer Science Education Week
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Winter in England s Cotswolds
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A hint of spring
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Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland
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Daylight saving time
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And to think that I saw it in Cappadocia
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To the 155th on the 155th
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Unbearable cuteness
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World Turtle Day
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Celebrating all things Austen
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A ‘circus of chaos’ for Stravinsky
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Happy Father s Day
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Flocking together in the Antarctic
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Bearded reedlings in Flevoland
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Nature Photography Day
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Dancing in The Nutcracker
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International Day of Peace
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Glass footbridge in Zhangjiajie, China