Project Isabela: Eliminating Goats from the Largest Galapagos Island

The project began in response to the massive ecosystem-wide destruction caused by introduced goats on Alcedo Volcano on northern Isabela. Goals included the eradication of goats and donkeys from northern Isabela; pigs, goats, and donkeys from Santiago Island; and goats from Pinta Island. Approximately 20-30 goats remained in southern Isabela. In the 1970s, goats, introduced to southern Isabela by whalers and other mariners, finally managed to cross the hostile terrain of the Perry Isthmus - 12 kilometers of rough a'a lava separating southern and northern Isabela. In 1997 the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galapagos National Park Directorate held an international workshop of experts to determine the feasibility of eradicating the goats on northern Isabela. Prior to 1997, the largest island with a successful goat eradication was Auckland Island in New Zealand, where only 105 goats occupied a mere 4000 ha. At the start of Project Isabela, goats were still found on Pinta, Santiago, the five islands with human habitation, and a small islet off the west coast of Isabela.