Durrell's conservation work in the Galápagos

Floreana, the most southerly island in the Galápagos, is home to many endemic species under threat from invasive predators.

Our work in the Galápagos began in 2004, when we collaborated with the Charles Darwin Foundation and Galápagos National Park to help prevent the extinction of the mangrove finch, which at the time was the Galápagos' rarest bird.

We're now working with Island Conservation (IC), Galápagos National Park and Galápagos Conservation Trust (GCT) on plans to eradicate invasive predators from Floreana, using our knowledge from previous eradication programmes on other islands. By removing invasive animals from Floreana, we hope endemic species like the Floreana mockingbird, Floreana tortoise and Galápagos racer can be reintroduced to the island.

Island Conservation Floreana Galapagos 2017 (6)

175km²

Floreana size

target finch species

wild Floreana mockingbird populations

What we're doing to help in the Galápagos

Removing invasive predators

The presence of rats, mice and feral cats, which are all invasive predators of Floreana's endemic wildlife, threatens the island's ecosystem.

What we're doing to help

Alongside our partners, we have been working on plans to eradicate invasive predators from Floreana, which will allow native species to recover and thrive without the threat of predation from species that shouldn't be on the island.

Establishing a captive husbandry programme

To avoid the risk of losing any endemic populations during the eradication process, a selection of birds must be brought into captivity as a safety net population.

What we're doing to help

Using our expertise in the captive care of birds, we helped to build specialist aviaries in the Galápagos and designed a husbandry programme to safely house these threatened species while Floreana's invasive predators are removed. While the risk of losing bird populations during the eradication is low, having a safety net population means we'd have a population of healthy birds to reintroduce to the island if needed.

Our partners

Galápagos Conservation Trust | Galápagos National Park Directorate | Island Conservation

Floreana Mockingbird. Photo By Luis Ortiz Catedral (47)

Species we're helping

Small ground-finch

Medium ground-finch

Small tree-finch

Medium tree-finch

Common cactus-finch

Floreana mockingbird

Floreana racer

Short-eared owl

Support our work in the Galápagos

Become a member Make a donation

Galápagos

Floreana, the most southerly island in the Galápagos, is home to many endemic species under threat from invasive predators.

What we're doing to help in the Galápagos

Removing invasive predators

The presence of rats, mice and feral cats, which are all invasive predators of Floreana's endemic wildlife, threatens the island's ecosystem.

What we're doing to help

Alongside our partners, we have been working on plans to eradicate invasive predators from Floreana, which will allow native species to recover and thrive without the threat of predation from species that shouldn't be on the island.

Establishing a captive husbandry programme

To avoid the risk of losing any endemic populations during the eradication process, a selection of birds must be brought into captivity as a safety net population.

What we're doing to help

Our partners

Species we're helping

Where we work

Latest news from the Galápagos