After struggling to survive, the population of giant tortoises on the Galapagos island of Española is on the rise again. Its numbers dwindled to only 15 in the 1960s after feral goats that came to the island in the 19th century almost wiped out the tortoises.

To date, there are now 1,000 tortoises breeding on their own, securing the population. This conservation effort is clear evidence of how biologists and conservationists can work together to recover animal species on the brink of extinction.

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The giant Galapagos tortoise was declared extinct when the Galapagos National Park Service sent conservationists in Española Island to search for surviving tortoises. Luckily, the conservationists found 15 giant tortoises that were later bred in captivity to increase their numbers.

When tortoise numbers reached around 2,000, conservationists released the animals back into the wild in 1975. After 40 years, the giant Galapagos tortoise population is now stable, according to a new study published in the journal, PLOS ONE.

James Gibbs, lead author of the study, said this conservation success story has been remarkable even if it's been under wraps. To date, half the tortoise population originally bred in captivity are still alive and breeding independently. Gibbs noted that the tortoises can now thrive in the wild without any human intervention.

Goats were the root cause of the tortoises' rapid decline in population 40 years ago since they ate the tortoises. The goats died out in the 1990s.

In 2012, another tortoise species called the Pinta tortoise went extinct after the last of its kind named Lonesome George died. Using the same technique to recover the giant tortoise population, conservationists will now apply it to Pinta tortoise hybrids recently discovered on Pinta Island.

Tagsgiant tortoise, giant turtle, galapagos island, Giant Tortoises Back from Near Extinction as Populations Increase in Galapagos Island, Ecuador, giant galapagos tortoise