[5][6] However, the IUCN has yet to update the subspecies' status due to lack of a genetically pure specimen at the time of the 2017 evaluation.

[2] The tortoises used to descend to the lower slopes of their volcanic island to graze on new vegetation after wet season rains.

They fed on grass, bitterbush and cacti, obtaining water from springs and from cracks in the lava rocks.

Extinction occurred during the 1840s or 1850s following overexploitation for food by sailors and settlers, as well as predation and habitat degradation from introduced species, including goats, pigs, dogs, cats, donkeys, and rodents.

[9][10][11] In 2012, several hybrids between this species and Chelonoidis becki were discovered around Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island, apparently from some of the Floreana tortoises being transported there in the early 19th century.