'Lonsome George' Dies

Kudu21

Kudu21

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The World Loses Lonesome George | Galapagos Conservancy

Early this morning, Lonesome George, the sole remaining Pinta Island tortoise and Galapagos conservation icon, was found dead in his corral at the Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island, by members of the Galapagos National Park Service.

Fausto Llerena, the park ranger who discovered George and has been his long-term caretaker, was sadly surprised when he arrived at Lonesome George’s corral this morning. Fausto discovered George stretched out in the direction of his watering hole with no signs of life.

Possible causes of death of this individual, the sole survivor of the Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdoni), will not be known until after a necropsy. The body of Lonesome George, whose age is unknown but estimated at more than 100 years old, is currently being held in a cold chamber to avoid decomposition prior to a necropsy.

Lonesome George was found on Pinta Island in 1972, although Pinta tortoises were thought to be extinct. Since then, Lonesome George has been part of the Tortoise Program of the Galapagos National Park Service. Over the years, various efforts were made to get George to reproduce. Two female tortoises collected on Wolf Volcano (Isabela Island) were put in Lonesome George’s corral. These females produced eggs at the end of 15 years with Lonesome George. Unfortunately all of the eggs were infertile. Later two females from the Espanola tortoise population (the species most closely related to Pinta tortoises genetically) were with George until the end.

The plight of Lonesome George provided a catalyst for an extraordinary effort by the government of Ecuador to restore not only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago but also to improve the status of other endangered and threatened species.

Edwin Naula, Director of the GNPS, stated, “This July, the GNPS is convening an international workshop to focus on management strategies for the restoration of tortoise populations across Galapagos during the next ten years. The workshop will be held in honor of Lonesome George.“

Lonesome George’s legacy will be an increased effort in both research and management to restore his island of Pinta and all of the other giant tortoise populations of Galapagos.

Prepared by Galapagos National Park Public Relations
For more information, email: info@dpng.gob.ec
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Is there any news on the possible Pinta male in Prague Zoo? And don't forget about the F1 Isabella x Pinta hybrids that were found on Isabella. So we might have not lost them yet.
 
So sad. George was an icon.

:( :( :(

Hix
 
2 days after a rare Sumatran Rhino birth, Lonesome George passes away. Life must go on, and Lonesome George's legacy will continue to live.
 
Read about it on ARKive several minutes ago. Very saddening news, especially since he's been around so long; created a legacy and became an animal icon during his time. Looking in some of my books published more than a decade ago and seeing his name in there makes me feel like his death hasn't even happened. But, every subspecies' and species' time will eventually come, and unfortunately it may have been the Pinta Island tortoises' time.
 
AnaheimZoo said:
Read about it on ARKive several minutes ago. Very saddening news, especially since he's been around so long; created a legacy and became an animal icon during his time. Looking in some of my books published more than a decade ago and seeing his name in there makes me feel like his death hasn't even happened. But, every subspecies' and species' time will eventually come, and unfortunately it may have been the Pinta Island tortoises' time.
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The legacy will be the memorial to the Pinta species Chelonoidis abingdoni (!!!) at the Puerto Ayora Galapagos NP station base.

In the interim sterilised hybrid tortoises had been released on Pinta to recreate their ecological niche / role on the island (after goat eradication) in Project Pinta. This was just the stepping stone towards eventual release of crossbreed Pinta tortoises (had LG produced offspring with the 2 Volcan wolf becki females he was with).

The aftermath pfffftttt ... may eventually well be the reintroduction of pure becki tortoises onto Pinta (spp. Chelonoidis becki volcano Wolf on Isabela its closest genetic relative - of which of late 2 females were housed with him for intensive conservation breeding).
 
DDcorvus said:
Is there any news on the possible Pinta male in Prague Zoo? And don't forget about the F1 Isabella x Pinta hybrids that were found on Isabella. So we might have not lost them yet.
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Antonio is Duncan (Pinzon) one by DNA tests. Nothing new about it.
 
docend24 said:
Antonio is Duncan (Pinzon) one by DNA tests. Nothing new about it.
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Yes, the one thing we cannot get our heads around here in Europe is that neither the SSP nor the Galapagos NP Service is willing to look further and provide much needed breeding partners for Antonio and have his much needed genes integrated into the ex / in situ breeding programme for Chelonoidis eppiphium. Shame that ... (= a definite black spot on the in situ conservation community).
 
Not sure if this has been posted anywhere else, but scientists believe that they can breed the Pinta Island subspecies of Galapagos Tortoise back into existence:

Extinct Species To Get Second Chance - science | Stuff.co.nz

Lonesome George, the late reptile prince of the Galapagos Islands, may be dead, but scientists now say he may not be the last giant tortoise of his species after all.

Researchers say they may be able to resurrect the Pinta Island subspecies by launching a cross-breeding programme with 17 other tortoises found to contain genetic material similar to that of Lonesome George, who died June 24 at the Pacific Ocean archipelago off Ecuador's coast after repeated failed efforts to reproduce.

Edwin Naula, director of the Galapagos National Park, said in a telephone interview on Thursday that the probability is high it can be accomplished.

"It would be the first time that a species was recovered after having been declared extinct," Naula said.

But it won't happen overnight.

"This is going to take about 100 to 150 years," Naula added.

Scientists took DNA samples from 1600 tortoises on Wolf volcano, and found the Pinta variety in 17, though their overall genetic makeup varied.

Through cross-breeding, "100 per cent pure species" can be achieved, said Naula, a biologist.

He said the 17 tortoises were being transferred from Isabela island, where the volcano is located, to the park's breeding centre at Santa Cruz, the main island on the archipelago whose unique flora and fauna helped inspire Charles Darwin's work on evolution.

The results are to be published in the journal Biological Conservation, the park said.

The study on Wolf volcano was conducted by Yale University and the Galapagos park with financial help from the Galapagos Conservancy.

In a news release, the park said scientists speculate that giant tortoises from Pinta island might have arrived at Wolf volcano after being taken off by whaling ships for food and later cast overboard.

At least 14 species of giant tortoise originally inhabited the islands' 1000km off Ecuador's coast and 10 survive.

A visit to Lonesome George became de rigueur for celebrities and common folk alike among the 180,000 people who annually visit the Galapagos.

Before humans arrived, the islands were home to tens of thousands of giant tortoises.

The number fell to about 3000 in 1974, but the recovery programme run by the national park and the Charles Darwin Foundation has succeeded in increasing the overall population to 20,000.

Lonesome George's age at death was not known, but scientists believed he was about 100, not especially old for a giant tortoise.
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I personally don't think that this is truly giving an extinct taxa a second chance, at the most it is allowing some of the subspecies' genome to have a second chance, but using this method will never allow a complete reconstruction of the Pinta Island subspecies.

It would probably be just as useful to round up these 17 tortoises and release them onto Pinta Island (and give them the required protection, etc), and allow them to breed naturally. Over time, and with the pre-existing Pinta traits, they will presumably be able to populate the island naturally and over time will become a new Pinta Island subspecies, still propogating the original genome. I imagine this would be a lot cheaper, allowing funds to be spent on more useful projects (e.g. the rat eradication, etc.).

Thoughts?
 
it doesn't say it in that article (I read it elsewhere), but it is also possible that living full-blooded Pinta tortoises are still on Isabela.
 
Chlidonias said:
it doesn't say it in that article (I read it elsewhere), but it is also possible that living full-blooded Pinta tortoises are still on Isabela.
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Well if such animals are discovered then breeding them (assum ing there is more than one) would be a much better option, although presumably there will only be very few individuals even in this case, and breeding these with Pinta-carrying tortoises will still be required.
 
This story has been circulation several times over an extended period of time. Over the last two weeks there have been dozens of news stories appear on various news sites but the actual news, that there are hybrids on Isabella, some of which are sufficiently young to suggest that their full-blooded animals still exist, is very old news.
 
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