Lonesome George's Death

[grooby]

rip george, so sad to hear this :'(

 

[phunkeepunk]

RE: Lonesome George

So sad I nearly cried when read this this morning....esp as one of mine is called George!

 

[M.Curie]

RE: Lonesome George

I hope this will make more people aware that we need to focus our attention to conservation, and how important it is to protect our wildlife. Once they're gone...we can't get them back

 

[yagyujubei]

RE: Lonesome George

I read somewhere that around 1900, a naturalist killed three of this species to examine their stomach contents, leaving only four adults.

 

[Avarice29]

When I saw the picture of a giant tort on the news I thought to myself that it would be a cute story... When I heard them say he died... I couldn't believe my ears.
I saw George on YouTube a few years ago... Tried to following up.
Heck my dads from Ecuador and I've been asking almost yearly if we could go go galapagos islands..
Now its too late... I'm so sad he's not with us anymore... I he will be in my heart...
Forever.. R.I.P

 

[l0velesly]

Poor Georgey

 

[Nixxy]

Poor ol' George. He was such a stunning tort...This is sad news, and bad news at that..He was the last known of his kind (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii aka Pinta Island Tort), and this could be the last we see of this subspecies of Galapagos tort. =\

I really had hoped all these years he would find a mate, but at the very least at least George had a nice life.

Rest in peace, great one. You will be missed.

 

[nicciu]

Wow. Poor George! Its so hard to wrap my head around the fact that there will never be another one of his kind ever again. It also makes me lose a little faith in humanity. All these "save this endangered species" organizations wouldn't be necessary if we (as a race) hadn't pushed them so close to extinction with our need to expand, and be so full of ourselves as to think that just because we are free thinkers and questioners that we are better than everything else on the planet. And the sad part is the fact that in a few weeks this whole story will blow over and nobody will care anymore. It doesn't effect peoples personal lives, so the majority of people wont think twice about it.

Im glad that people here care! George mattered! and not only because he was the last of a species or a big tortoise, but because he existed! he was a living creature!

So I share with everyone here the sadness of George's passing. RIP buddy.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

What a wonderful creature. Sorry to hear he's gone.

What bothers me is that, because he was the last of his subspecies (Pinta Island Galapagos tortoise, Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni), nobody allowed him to breed with Galapagos tortoises from other subspecies.

Now, I'm all for preserving distinct wild lineages. But if an animal is the last of his subspecies, I think it makes perfect sense to allow him to breed with the next most closely related subspecies, and conserve that stock as a proxy.

Again, this is not the same as perpetuating distant hybrids in the pet trade. Rather, it would mean creating a line of mixed offspring that can perpetuate the genes of a bygone subspecies.

Those who would allow an animal like Lonesome George to die without the opportunity to reproduce are not conservationists. They are purists, and their aims are contrary to those of wildlife protection.

 

[Yvonne G]

They tried, Gaddy. They had a female that was closely related specie-wise in with him and they didn't breed. There was another female at one time but her eggs were not fertile.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

They tried, Gaddy. They had a female that was closely related specie-wise in with him and they didn't breed. There was another female at one time but her eggs were not fertile.

I see. Wow, so the genetic distance between different types of Galapagos tortoise must be relatively large. This might warrant elevating them to species status, instead of just subspecies...

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

One thing I have always wondered... And maybe one of you will know the answer to this... I always noticed lonesome George's shell was shaped differently then other Galapagos Tortoise I have seen pictures of, and his front legged seem longer... Are these physical traits of his subspecies or were these characteristics specific to Lonesome George as an individual?

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

One thing I have always wondered... And maybe one of you will know the answer to this... I always noticed lonesome George's shell was shaped differently then other Galapagos Tortoise I have seen pictures of, and his front legged seem longer... Are these physical traits of his subspecies or were these characteristics specific to Lonesome George as an individual?

Shell shape, and limb and neck length, vary from one island to the next. On islands where the tortoises feed on low-lying vegetation, the carapace has a more conventional form. On islands where there are more shrubs, the tortoises must reach higher to browse. Over time, their carapaces evolved into a more saddle-like form, and their forelegs and necks became longer. This is why, along with finches, the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands were key to Darwin's discovery of evolution.

 

[Melly-n-shorty]

Ok I see now. Thank you for answering. I have always wondered. I think I am going to make a decal of his standing silhouette. I hope that people start to think more about their impact on the earth. So many don't even know who Lonesome George was. I have been telling everyone I know trying to raise what little awareness I can.

 

[CourtneyAndCarl]

So sad!! I know they can do it with dogs... is there anyway they can make little test tube tortoise babies using this guy's DNA?

 

[tortoises101]

So sad!! I know they can do it with dogs... is there anyway they can make little test tube tortoise babies using this guy's DNA?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/18604240

 

[mctlong]

So sad. RIP George.

 

[Vincentdhr]

Researchers recently found some Pinta island tortoise hybrids on a neighboring island! They are hoping to breed back the subspecies, but it is expected to take over a century.

 

[DesertGrandma]

Researchers recently found some Pinta island tortoise hybrids on a neighboring island! They are hoping to breed back the subspecies, but it is expected to take over a century.

That's good news. Wonder how they can breed back the subspecies. guessing they would be breeding for characteristics??? unless they have a way to check DNA?? If they can do that, too bad they didn't do invitro fertilization from George before he passed.

 

[Vincentdhr]

The researchers are looking at the genetic markers in order to tell if the tortoises are full blooded Pinta. This type of breeding program is already in progress for the extinct tortoises of Floreana. Also, the San Diego Zoo has all of the samples from George's body in their "Frozen Zoo" (A large collection of DNA and samples from extinct or highly endangered species). These can induced into meiosis, becoming sperm cells. So they have some ability to reproduce Lonesome George if they find or breed back a female of his subspecies. However, it seems more likely that the researchers will simply breed back a decent population with George's sperm being used for genetic variability.