After saving their species, giant Galapagos tortoises head home

FILE PHOTO: A giant tortoise is seen on a road at Santa Cruz island at Galapagos National Park August 23, 2013. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

(Reuters) - A group of giant tortoises who have lived in captivity for decades and helped rescue their species from the brink of extinction were released into the wild in the Galapagos Islands on Monday.

The tortoises were bred in captivity to repopulate the islands after their numbers in the wild went down to just 15 individuals, said park director Danny Rueda. There are now more than 2,000 of them on Espanola Island, he said.