The Galapagos' Lonesome George dies aged 100
25th June 2012
What is believed to be the world's last Pinta giant tortoise – known worldwide as Lonesome George – has died in the Galapagos National Park
Park officials announced the death yesterday and said they would carry out a post-mortem to determine the cause of his death. They estimated his age at 100 years old, which is young for the Pinta sub-species. Some have lived up to the age of 200.
Originally discovered in 1972, scientists have spent decades unsuccessfully attempting to cross breed Lonesome George with another tortoise of a similar DNA strain – in order to create a hybrid species and save some of the Pinta species DNA.
Lonesome George and his solo story have become a symbol of the Galapagos Islands, which is one of the world's most environmentally abundant, yet threatened places.
Sailors and fishermen hunted the giant tortoises close to extinction in the late 19th century, and the archipelago's name actually derives from the Spanish word for tortoise. Goats, which were introduced from the mainland, took over and destroyed much of the sub-species' habitat.
Chris Breen of tour company Wildlife Worldwide commented, " Lonesome George was one of the icons of the wildlife world. He ranks alongside some of the world’s greats – Echo, the mega-tusked elephant in Amboseli and Joy Adamson’s Elsa spring to mind. But of course George’s plight was rather more critical than either of these since he was not only the last remaining Galapagos Giant Tortoise from Pinta Island but he was completely disinterested in mating. He must have been seen by many, many thousands of people since he was moved to the Charles Darwin Research Station 40 years or so ago and we have to hope that his death is publicised far and wide and that the publicity generated by it highlights the environmental (and especially wildlife) issues not only in the Galapagos, but worldwide.”
Tourism officials report around 180,000 people visit the islands every year in search of some of the world's rarest and most unique wildlife, including marine iguanas, Galapagos penguins, and various other sub-species of giant tortoise.
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