It is a unique biosphere reserve in the world. To protect the wild birds of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador is mobilizing after the detection of an epidemic of avian flu in the center of the country, announced Friday, December 2, the Ministry of the Environment.
It is a question of "adopting preventive measures" to guarantee the safety of birds and poultry production in the archipelago, located 1,000 km from the Ecuadorian coast, the ministry said in a press release.
"Permanent monitoring has been organized in areas of greatest influx of seabirds, some of which are migratory ," says the director of the Galapagos National Park, Danny Rueda, in the document.
Endemic penguins, albatrosses and cormorants
Listed as a World Heritage Site, the Galapagos archipelago is considered a biosphere reserve for its unique fauna and flora in the world. In particular, it is home to a diversity of wild birds, some of which are endemic such as penguins, finches, albatrosses, cormorants and hawks.
This archipelago, which owes its name to the giant sea turtles that live there, has 35 poultry farms, according to the authorities.