But the islands were not left uninhabited. Dogs, cats, rats, pigs, goats and burros accompanied the sailors to the islands from their homelands, and ended forever the tortoises predator-free lifestyle. To this day, goats roam the islands searching for food to satiate their voracious appetites. They are direct competitors with the tortoises for the islands herbs and grasses. The goats also strip vegetation from tall plants and trees that the tortoises typically use for shade.
Rats find a tortoise eggs quite a delicacy and frequently destroy nests.
Feral dogs, cats and pigs also prey on tortoise nesting sites, and eat newborn hatchlings. The tortoises continue to be threatened by man, as well. Ecuador annexed the island in 1832 for use as a penal colony. The islands soil is not well adapted to agriculture and many of the islanders poached the tortoises for food and money. Although the sailors are long gone, man is still drawn to the Galapagos Islands to view her wildlife.