Operation Mangrove Finch
In April park warden Freddy Azuero and three scientists from the Charles Darwin Foundation undertook a field trip to study the mangrove finch Cactospiza heliobates, a critically endangered species with only around 100 individuals left. The object of the trip was to obtain more information on their ecology and breeding with a view to the possible establishment of a captive breeding programme. Mangrove finches have never been numerous as they are restricted to areas of mangroves which in Galapagos are found mainly on Isabela. Mangrove finches were never numerous due to their restricted habitat and their decline has been caused in part by habitat loss, but also by introduced cats and rats.