George is dead

He was probably the last of his kind Lonesome George, the lonely George is dead, the world famous Galapagos giant tortoise is an age of more than one hundred years have been reached.


The death of the famous Galapagos giant tortoise Lonesome George is probably the world poorer by one species. The "lonesome George" was discovered on Sunday by its keeper at a research station in the Galapagos Islands found dead in his enclosure, like the nature park management announced. His long time nurse, Fausto Llerena, found the dead turtle thus stretched "in the direction of their water hole" on the island of Santa Cruz.

Lonesome George was considered the last living representative of the giant tortoise subspecies Chelonoidis abingdoni - and became a symbol of the world famous Galapagos Islands, the British scientist Charles Darwin in the 19th Century inspired his theory of evolution.
The turtle is said to have reached an age of more than one hundred years. The male specimen was found in 1972 by goatherds on the island of Pinta. Until then, its subspecies was considered extinct. At the research station of the island of Santa Cruz was tried several times, the genes of the "lonely Georges" by mating females with giant turtles-related sub-species to obtain. The females laid eggs but several, but they were all infertile.

Researchers had expected that Lonesome George would still live a few decades. The cause of death will now be examined.

The Galapagos Islands, about a thousand kilometres off the coast of Ecuador are located, as a haven for turtles. Since the mid-seventies, the number of turtles is said to have increased from about 3,000 to about 20,000.