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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					Ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier
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					Celebrating Pi Day
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					The frog prince?
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					Fresh water on the Silk Road
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					A bird of beauty
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					When science looks like magic
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					Life in the slow lane
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					Bright and colorful peacock feathers
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					To the 155th on the 155th
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					Happy Fathers Day!
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					Mesmerizing murmuration
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					Pamukkale, Turkey
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					Quebec City for Winter Carnival
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					Who s wearing such cute hats?
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					Bow Bridge in Central Park, New York City
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					Behold the perfect cone
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					April Fools Day
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					Rocks on the move
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					Perseid meteor shower over Nevada
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					A seabird gets schooled
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					World Children s Day
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					Ljubljana, Slovenia
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					Tombeau du Géant in Bouillon, Belgium
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					Wildlife Conservation Day
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					Here we mark the price of freedom
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					Morocco in bloom
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					A Eurasian red squirrel in Switzerland
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					Groundhog Day arrives—beyond a shadow of a doubt
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					Lizard of mystery
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					A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
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