Last of his species ... Lonesome George. Photo: Reuters
Lonesome George has died, leaving the world one
species poorer.
The only remaining Pinta Island tortoise and
celebrated conservation icon passed away on Sunday, the Galapagos National Park
Service said in a statement.
Estimated to be more than 100-years-old, the
creature's cause of death remains unclear and a necropsy is planned.
Lonesome George's longtime caretaker, Fausto Llerena,
found the tortoise's remains stretched out in the "direction of his
watering hole" on Santa Cruz Island, the statement said.
Lonesome George was discovered on Ecuador's Pinta
Island in 1972 at a time when tortoises of his type were already believed to be
extinct. Since then, the animal had been part of the park service's tortoise
program.
Repeated efforts to breed Lonesome George failed.
"Later two females from the Espanola tortoise
population [the species most closely related to Pinta tortoises genetically]
were with George until the end," the park service said.
In honour of Lonesome George, the park service said
it was convening an international workshop in July on management strategies for
restoring tortoise populations over the next decade.
The Galapagos Islands, situated about 1000km off
Ecuador's coast, are considered a haven for tortoises
1 comment:
With all of the advances in genetics, I find it hard to believe they could not successfully breed George (or his sperm) with some female tortoise.
But perhaps he was sterile or just too old.
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