Thought to have been hatched on Española Island, Galápagos, he was captured as a young adult and shipped to the United States where he was exhibited at zoos.

[1][2] He was captured and transported to the United States as a young adult sometime between 1928 and 1933 as part of a shipment of tortoises from the Galápagos Islands sent to American zoos.

[2][3] The Hood Island giant tortoise (Chelonoidis niger hoodensis) was threatened by hunting for food and competition from goats and was declared critically endangered in the 1960s.

[5][6] Diego, by comparison, has been described as aggressive, active and vocal in the act of mating, which in turn made him popular with the female tortoises.

[2] At the time of his release he weighed 80 kilograms (180 lb) and measured 90 centimetres (35 in) in length at 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in height at full stretch.