Centuries ago, great whaling ships would take to the seas to hunt whales. The ships would spend years at a time catching whales and processing them for their oil, which was very valuable. Only when the ship's hold was full of barrels of whale oil would the ship return to port. The Galapagos Islands were a natural stopping point for these whalers, as there they could pick up water and food. Often, unfortunately, the food they picked up was Giant Tortoises, which would eventually become extinct on Floreana Island and elsewhere.