The Galapagos tortoise is found on the Galapagos Islands just west of Ecuador in South America . Today only 15,000 are left. The social structure of the Galapagos tortoise is a dominance hierarchy based on the height to which the tortoise can stretch its head. The Galapagos tortoise matures at 20-25 years of age. Compared to most tortoises, the birth rate of Galapagos tortoises is extremely low.
Most tortoises can lay hundreds of eggs at a time.
Howveer, the Galapagos tortoise only lays between 2 and 16 eggs. These eggs are laid in a hole dug by the mother. Then they are buried for incubation . The mother leaves, and the eggs hatch 4-8 months later. It takes the baby tortoises one month to dig out of the nest.