[ti:Tortoise Not Seen for Over 110 Years Found on Galapagos Island] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.00]A kind of tortoise not seen in more than 110 years [00:05.40]has been found in the Galapagos Islands. [00:09.95]A female from a species known as the Fernandina Giant Tortoise [00:17.50]was discovered last weekend on the island of Fernandina. [00:23.69]The Galapagos is a group of 20 islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean, [00:31.58]about 1,000 kilometers off the coast of Ecuador. [00:37.17]The islands belong to Ecuador and the tortoise discovery [00:43.57]was announced by the country's ministry of environment. [00:48.16]It said that the creature was identified by researchers [00:53.57]from the Galapagos National Park and the Galapagos Conservancy, [01:00.15]a group based in the United States. [01:03.26]Wildlife experts had thought the Fernandina Giant Tortoise no longer existed. [01:12.62]The researchers said they believe the adult female tortoise [01:18.13]is more than 100 years old. [01:21.65]The animal was taken to a breeding center [01:26.12]for giant tortoises on the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz. [01:32.00]The International Union for Conservation of Nature says [01:38.29]the only other living member of the species was found in 1906. [01:44.85]Since then, researchers have found [01:48.61]some evidence of Fernandina Giant Tortoise activity. [01:52.97]There was an unconfirmed sighting in 2009. [01:58.25]But the latest find was the first new confirmed sighting of the species. [02:05.41]Investigators believe there may be more members of the species [02:12.31]on Fernandina Island because of animal droppings and tracks they found. [02:19.23]Danny Rueda is the director of Galapagos National Park. [02:26.28]He says the discovery provides new hope for possible successful breeding. [02:33.49]"This encourages us to strengthen our search plans to find other turtles, [02:40.83]which will allow us to start a breeding program [02:44.28]in captivity to recover this species," he said in a statement. [02:51.04]Fernandina is the third-largest island in the Galapagos. [02:57.42]A volcano there is one of the most active in the world. [03:02.72]The International Union for Conservation of Nature said [03:07.92]it feared the species was likely lost [03:11.76]to repeated volcanic lava flows "that nearly cover the island." [03:18.32]Ecuador's Environment Minister, Marcelo Mata Guerrero, [03:24.95]said the government fully supports additional research [03:29.39]and development efforts aimed at saving the species. [03:34.41]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM