In the 18th century, an unfortunate incident with stow-away hungry rats from a docking ship led to the depletion of the tortoise population in the Galapagos Island of Pinzon, Ecuador
[1]. The species was formerly thriving and basking in their numbers on the island, until the invasion of the rats.
These rodents ate the tortoise eggs and those of other species, disrupting the natural order of the island's ecosystem. Birth rates became so unstable that the tortoises became an endangered species. It was nearly impossible for a baby tortoise to survive out there in the wild.
Rodent infestation, attacks from larger species, and destructive human activities nearly wiped out the baby tortoise population in Pinzon, leading to a 100-year absence from the wild.
Today, more than 500 baby tortoises are thriving in Pinzon, and they were all born and bred in the Island
[2]. This wonderful development is a testament to the success of conservation efforts over the decades. The rats were completely cleared out of the island by air-dropped rat poison in 2012, and the tortoise population has been on a steady increase since then.
Comment: The growing list of phenomena resulting from our changing atmosphere: