Lonesome George, The World’s Last Remaining Pinta Island Tortoise, Has Died

by Jessica Festa on

The world’s only Pinta Island Tortoise died on Sunday, leaving the planet one species poorer. Lonesome George, the iconic tortoise of the Galapagos Islands, was believed to be over 100 years old.

When Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island in 1972, Galapagos National Park officials had already believed the specifies to be extinct. The tortoise was then taken to Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island to be cared for under the park service’s tortoise program.

On a happier note, it looks like Lonesome George didn’t have to be all that lonesome during his passing. Two females from the Espanola tortoise population, the species most genetically similar to Pinta tortoises, stayed by George until his last breath.

Staff members of the Galapagos National Park Service are still unsure as to what the cause of death was. To honor the beloved animal, however, the park is holding an international workshop in July on effective strategies for restoring tortoise populations over the next 10 years.

[photo via putneymark]

Galapagos sea tortoise “Lonesome George” is lonesome no more

by Kraig Becker on

Visitors to the Galapagos have no doubt caught a glimpse of one of the islands’ more famous inhabitants, a very rare sea turtle that is believed to be the last of his subspecies, and the rarest creature on Earth, who was affectionately dubbed Lonesome George more than three decades ago, when he was first brought to the his current home.

The Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, who weighs nearly 200 pounds, has never mated, and his species is in danger of disappearing completely when George finally passes on. But earlier this week it was announced that George has found a mate at last (two in fact!) and he may be a father sometime in the next 120 days.

George has recently been shacking up with two females of a different subspecies, and last week his handlers discovered five perfect eggs in the sea tortoise pen. They were carefully removed, weighed, and put into an incubator, where they will be watched carefully over the next 16 weeks until they hatch.

For the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, this may be a glimmer of hope of salvaging the species from the brink of extinction. Although George is estimated to be about 90 years old, he is just now entering his sexual prime, and the species can live to be 150. That means he has the chance to father a few more children in the decades ahead, and perhaps we’ll see more of his species returning to the Galapagos.