hoodensis female partners were imported to the Charles Darwin Research Station, where George lived. In November 1999, scientists reported Lonesome George was "very closely related to tortoises" from Española Island ( C. The eggs were moved to an incubator, but on December 16, it was announced that the incubation period had ended and the eggs were inviable (as was a third batch of six eggs laid by the other female). The park authority expressed its hope for the second clutch of eggs, which it said were in perfect condition. On July 23, 2009, exactly one year after announcing George had mated, the Galápagos National Park announced one of George's female companions had laid a second clutch of five eggs. By December 2008, the remaining eggs had failed to hatch and X-rays showed that they were inviable. On November 11, 2008, the Charles Darwin Foundation reported 80% of the eggs showed weight loss characteristic of being inviable. 13 eggs were collected and placed in incubators. In July 2008, George mated with one of his female companions. This species was then thought to be genetically closest to George's however, any potential offspring would have been hybrids, not purebreds of the Pinta Island species. Until January 2011, George was penned with two females of the species Chelonoidis niger becki (from the Wolf Volcano region of Isabela Island), in the hope his genotype would be retained in any resulting progeny. This prompted researchers at the Darwin Station to offer a $10,000 reward for a suitable mate. Over the decades, all attempts at mating Lonesome George had been unsuccessful. The Pinta Island tortoise was pronounced functionally extinct, as George was in captivity. No other Pinta Island tortoises were found. It was hoped that more Pinta Island tortoises would be found, either on Pinta Island or in one of the world's zoos, similar to the discovery of the Española Island male in San Diego. He was relocated for his own safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, where he spent his life under the care of Fausto Llerena, for whom the tortoise breeding center is named. It is thought that he was named after a character played by American actor George Gobel. abingdonii population had been reduced to a single individual. The island's vegetation had been devastated by introduced feral goats, and the indigenous C. George was first seen on the island of Pinta on November 1, 1971, by Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi. George serves as an important symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos Islands and throughout the world. In his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world. 1910 – June 24, 2012) was a male Pinta Island tortoise ( Chelonoidis niger abingdonii) and the last known individual of the subspecies. Lonesome George ( Spanish: Solitario George or Jorge, c. Taxidermied and on display at Galápagos National Park Lonesome George at Galápagos National Park headquarters in 2006Ĭhelonoidis niger abingdonii (Pinta Island tortoise)
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