Migration routes of individual Galapagos tortoises on Santa Cruz Island. Figure from Blake et al. (2013).
It’s true, although “long-distance” has a completely different meaning for a giant tortoise compared to a sooty shearwater. The study found that the tortoises traveled 200-300 meters per day for a total migration distance of 6 kilometers. Although not all individuals migrated, it looks like the search for better forage might be the motivation.
Read more in National Geographic, or read the original paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology.
