Diego the tortoise walks around a breeding centre on September 10, 2016, on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos archipelago, located some 1,000km off Ecuador’s coast. Rodrigo Buendia / Agence France-Presse
Diego the tortoise walks around a breeding centre on September 10, 2016, on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos archipelago, located some 1,000km off Ecuador’s coast. Rodrigo Buendia / Agence France-Presse
Diego the tortoise walks around a breeding centre on September 10, 2016, on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos archipelago, located some 1,000km off Ecuador’s coast. Rodrigo Buendia / Agence France-Presse
Diego the tortoise walks around a breeding centre on September 10, 2016, on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos archipelago, located some 1,000km off Ecuador’s coast. Rodrigo Buendia / Agence France-Pr

Diego the tortoise, the Don Juan of the Galapagos, is the saviour of his species


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PUERTO AYORA, ECUADOR // He is more than 100 years old, but his love life is the stuff of legend. Diego the tortoise is quite the lady’s man, and his exploits have helped save his species from extinction.

Diego, a Galapagos giant tortoise, has fathered an estimated 800 offspring, almost single-handedly rebuilding the population of his species on their native island, Espanola, the southernmost in the Galapagos Archipelago.

“He’s a very sexually active male reproducer. He’s contributed enormously to repopulating the island,” said Washington Tapia, a tortoise preservation specialist at Galapagos National Park.

Diego is a Chelonoidis hoodensis, a species found in the wild only on Espanola.

The island is one of the oldest in the Galapagos, the Pacific archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin’s studies of its breathtaking biodiversity.

Around 50 years ago, there were only two males and 12 females of Diego’s kind of giant tortoise left alive on Espanola, and they were too spread out to reproduce.

He has done more than any other tortoise to turn that around — with the help of his mates, of course.

Diego lives at a tortoise breeding centre on Santa Cruz Island, one of the largest in the Galapagos. He is the dominant male of the three assigned to repopulate Espanola, and shares his enclosure with six females, his partners in the task of saving their species.

Tough work, but some tortoise has to do it.

Diego weighs about 80 kilograms is nearly 90 centimetres long and 1.5 meters tall if he really stretches his legs and neck. He has a mysterious, globe-trotting background to go with his reputation as a Casanova.

Diego was found at the San Diego Zoo — hence his name — after Chelonoidis hoodensis was identified as a species and an international campaign was launched to find more of the rare tortoises. No one knows for certain when or how he arrived in the United States. “He must have been taken from Espanola sometime between 1900 and 1959 by a scientific expedition,” said Mr Tapia.

He was brought back to the Galapagos in 1976 to play a key role in the captive breeding programme. Six years ago, tests revealed just how effective he has been.

“We did a genetic study and we discovered that he was the father of nearly 40 per cent of the offspring released into the wild on Espanola,” said Mr Tapia.

In all, around 2,000 tortoises have been released on the small island and the species is no longer facing extinction.

“I wouldn’t say (the species) is in perfect health, because historical records show there probably used to be more than 5,000 tortoises on the island. But it’s a population that’s in pretty good shape — and growing, which is the most important,” said Mr Tapia.

Of the 15 species of giant tortoise known to have originated in the Galapagos, three have become extinct — victims of 18th-century pirates who plundered the islands’ fragile ecosystem.

Diego’s species has also been introduced on the island of Santa Fe, where a genetically similar one, Chelonoidis spp, disappeared more than 150 years ago.

Not all critically endangered tortoises rise to the challenge as Diego has.

Hopes for another threatened species, Chelonoidis abingdoni, faded when its last known survivor died in 2012 at more than 100 years old.

Known as Lonesome George, he had refused for years to breed in captivity.

* Agence France Presse

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

OPENING FIXTURES

Saturday September 12

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Burnley v Manchester United

Manchester City v Aston Villa

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap​​​​​​​
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal​​​​​​​
Rating: 3.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fight card

1. Bantamweight: Victor Nunes (BRA) v Siyovush Gulmamadov (TJK)

2. Featherweight: Hussein Salim (IRQ) v Shakhriyor Juraev (UZB)

3. Catchweight 80kg: Rashed Dawood (UAE) v Khamza Yamadaev (RUS)

4. Lightweight: Ho Taek-oh (KOR) v Ronald Girones (CUB)

5. Lightweight: Arthur Zaynukov (RUS) v Damien Lapilus (FRA)

6. Bantamweight: Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) v Furkatbek Yokubov (RUS)

7. Featherweight: Movlid Khaybulaev (RUS) v Zaka Fatullazade (AZE)

8. Flyweight: Shannon Ross (TUR) v Donovon Freelow (USA)

9. Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) v Dan Collins (GBR)

10. Catchweight 73kg: Islam Mamedov (RUS) v Martun Mezhulmyan (ARM)

11. Bantamweight World title: Jaures Dea (CAM) v Xavier Alaoui (MAR)

12. Flyweight World title: Manon Fiorot (FRA) v Gabriela Campo (ARG)

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Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20results%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20beat%20UAE%20by%20six%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EZimbabwe%20beat%20UAE%20by%20eight%20wickets%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20beat%20Netherlands%20by%2010%20wickets%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EUAE%20v%20Vanuatu%2C%20Thursday%2C%203pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3Cbr%3EIreland%20v%20Netherlands%2C%207.30pm%2C%20Zayed%20Cricket%20Stadium%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGroup%20B%20table%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1)%20Ireland%203%203%200%206%20%2B2.407%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Netherlands%203%202%201%204%20%2B1.117%0D%3Cbr%3E3)%20UAE%203%201%202%202%200.000%0D%3Cbr%3E4)%20Zimbabwe%204%201%203%202%20-0.844%0D%3Cbr%3E5)%20Vanuatu%203%201%202%202%20-2.180%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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ICC T20 Rankings

1. India - 270 ranking points

 

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3. Pakistan - 261 points

 

4. South Africa - 253 points

 

5. Australia - 251 points 

 

6. New Zealand - 250 points

 

7. West Indies - 240 points

 

8. Bangladesh - 233 points

 

9. Sri Lanka - 230 points

 

10. Afghanistan - 226 points

 
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:

- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools

- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say

- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance

- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs

- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills

- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month

- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues

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Tips to avoid getting scammed

1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday

2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment

3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone

4) Try not to close the sale at night

5) Don't be rushed into a sale 

6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

What is Reform?

Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

Armies of Sand

By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
 

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions