Lonesome George ( es, Solitario George or , 1910
– June 24, 2012) was a male
Pinta Island tortoise
The Pinta Island tortoise (''Chelonoidis niger ''), also known as the Pinta giant tortoise, Abingdon Island tortoise, or Abingdon Island giant tortoise, was a subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to Ecuador's Pinta Island.
The subspecies wa ...
(''Chelonoidis niger abingdonii'') and the
last known individual of the subspecies.
In his last years, he was known as the
rarest creature in the world. George serves as an important symbol for conservation efforts in the
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...
and throughout the world.
Discovery
George was first seen on the
island of Pinta on November 1, 1971, by
Hungarian malacologist
Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology that deals with the study of the Mollusca (mollusks or molluscs), the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, ...
József Vágvölgyi. The island's vegetation had been devastated by
introduced feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
goats, and the indigenous ''C. n. abingdonii'' population had been reduced to a single individual. It is thought that he was named after a character played by
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
actor
George Gobel
George Leslie Goebel (May 20, 1919 – February 24, 1991) was an American humorist, actor, and comedian. He was best known as the star of his own weekly comedy variety television series, ''The George Gobel Show'', broadcasting from 1954 to 1959 ...
. He was relocated for his own safety to the
Charles Darwin Research Station
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...
on
Santa Cruz Island
Santa Cruz Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Santa Cruz'', Chumash: ''Limuw'') is located off the southwestern coast of Ventura, California, United States. It is the largest island in California and largest of the eight islands in the Channel Islands ...
, where he spent his life under the care of Fausto Llerena, for whom the tortoise breeding center is named.
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. No other Pinta Island tortoises were found. The Pinta Island tortoise was pronounced
functionally extinct
Functional extinction is the extinction of a species or other taxon such that:
#It disappears from the fossil record, or historic reports of its existence cease;
#The reduced population no longer plays a significant role in ecosystem function; or ...
, as George was in captivity.
Mating attempts
![Pinta Island Tortoise Lonesome George 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Pinta_Island_Tortoise_Lonesome_George_2008.jpg)
Over the decades, all attempts at mating Lonesome George had been unsuccessful. This prompted researchers at the Darwin Station to offer a $10,000 reward for a suitable mate.
Until January 2011, George was penned with two females of the species ''
Chelonoidis niger becki'' (from the
Wolf Volcano
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; plural, : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been reco ...
region of Isabela Island), in the hope his
genotype
The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...
would be retained in any resulting
progeny. This species was then thought to be genetically closest to George's; however, any potential offspring would have been
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
s, not purebreds of the Pinta Island species.
In July 2008, George mated with one of his female companions. 13 eggs were collected and placed in incubators.
On November 11, 2008, the
Charles Darwin Foundation
The Charles Darwin Foundation ( Spanish: ''Fundación Charles Darwin'') was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is use ...
reported 80% of the eggs showed weight loss characteristic of being inviable.
By December 2008, the remaining eggs had failed to hatch and X-rays showed that they were inviable.
On July 23, 2009, exactly one year after announcing George had mated, the
Galápagos National Park
Galápagos National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Galápagos) was established in 1959. It began operation in 1968, and it is Ecuador's first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Park history
The government of Ecuador has designated ...
announced one of George's female companions had laid a second clutch of five eggs. The park authority expressed its hope for the second clutch of eggs, which it said were in perfect condition. 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).
In November 1999, scientists reported Lonesome George was "very closely related to tortoises" from
Española Island
Española Island (Spanish: ''Isla Española'') is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it ''Hood Island'' after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Sant ...
(''
C. n. hoodensis'') and
San Cristóbal Island
San Cristóbal Island ( es, Isla San Cristóbal) and named previously by the English as ''Chatham Island'', is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part ...
(''
C. n. chathamensis''). On January 20, 2011, two individual ''C. n. hoodensis'' female partners were imported to the Charles Darwin Research Station, where George lived.
Death
![Lonesome George on display at the American Museum of Natural History](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Lonesome_George_on_display_at_the_American_Museum_of_Natural_History.jpg)
On June 24, 2012, at 8:00 A.M. local time, Galápagos National Park director Edwin Naula announced that Lonesome George had been found dead by Fausto Llerana, who had looked after him for forty years. Naula suspected that the cause of death was
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
.
A
necropsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
confirmed that George died from natural causes. The body of Lonesome George was frozen and shipped to the
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to be preserved by
taxidermists
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...
. The preservation work was carried out by the museum's taxidermist George Dante, with input from scientists.
![Lonesome George](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Lonesome_George.jpg)
After a short display at the museum, it was expected that Lonesome George's taxidermy would be returned to the Galápagos and displayed at the Galapagos National Park headquarters on Santa Cruz Island for future generations to see.
However, a dispute broke out between an Ecuadorean ministry and the Galápagos Islands. The Ecuadorean government wanted the taxidermy to be shown in the capital, Quito, but the Galápagos local mayor said Lonesome George was a symbol of the islands and should return home.
On February 17, 2017, Lonesome George's taxidermy was flown back to the Galápagos Islands and is currently on display in a special exhibit building completely dedicated to him called the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center in the Galapagos National Park headquarters on Santa Cruz. Most sources state Lonesome George was more than 100 years old,
though others such as
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
said he was probably in his 80s or possibly even younger.
Even 100 was not especially old for a Galápagos tortoise.
The ''
Futurama
''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'' episode "
Naturama
Naturama was a widescreen movie technique used by Republic Pictures, during the 1950s.
Films produced in ''Naturama'' format
*'' The Maverick Queen'' (1956)
*''Juvenile Jungle'' (1956)
*''Lisbon'' (1956)
*''Accused of Murder'' (1956)
*''Thunder ...
" was dedicated to his memory.
Biological conservation
In November 2012, in the journal ''Biological Conservation'', researchers reported identifying 17 tortoises that are partially descended from the same species as Lonesome George, leading them to speculate that closely related purebred individuals of that species may still be alive.
In December 2015, it was reported that the discovery of another subspecies, ''
Chelonoidis niger donfaustoi'', by Yale researchers had a 90% D.N.A. match to that of the Pinta Island tortoise and that scientists believe this could possibly be used to resurrect the species. This could mean that he is not the last of his kind.
In December 2018, a paper was published by Quesada et al. describing the sequencing of George's
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...
and some of his aging-related genes. They estimated that the population of ''C. n. abingdonii'' had been declining for the past one million years and identified
proteostasis Proteostasis is the dynamic regulation of a balanced, functional proteome. The proteostasis network includes competing and integrated biological pathways within cells that control the biogenesis, folding, trafficking, and degradation of proteins ...
,
metabolism regulation and
immune response
An immune response is a reaction which occurs within an organism for the purpose of defending against foreign invaders. These invaders include a wide variety of different microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi which could ...
as key processes during the evolution of giant tortoises via effects on longevity and resistance to infection.
See also
*
Jonathan (tortoise)
Jonathan (hatched ) is a Seychelles giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa''), a subspecies of the Aldabra giant tortoise (''Aldabrachelys gigantea''); he is the oldest known living land animal. Jonathan resides on the island of Saint ...
*
The Life Cairn
The Life Cairn is a type of public memorial built around the world for species rendered extinct by human activity. It takes the form of a cairn. The first Life Cairn was raised on Mount Caburn, near Lewes in East Sussex. The inaugural opening c ...
*
Mr Turpen
References
{{Authority control
Individual tortoises
2012 animal deaths
Endlings
Animal deaths from cancer
Deaths from hepatitis
Extinct turtles
Deaths from lung cancer in Ecuador
Individual taxidermy exhibits