A fascinating little 6-minutes!

I had no idea of the Connection of these tortoises with the California Gold Rush.

Conrad’s chapter, co-authored with James Gibbs from State University of New York and the Galapagos Conservancy, is called The era of exploitation: 1535-1959 and explores the tragic hunt of the creatures to near-extinction by mariners, colonists, and collectors. A combination of overhunting of whales, the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania, the American Civil War, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad across the United States prevented the final extinction of the behemoth.