He has been called the rarest creature on earth. Lonesome George (or Solitario Jorge as he is know in his home in Ecuador) is the last know Pinta Island tortoise. This is one of the subspecies of the famous Galápagos Islands tortoises that were first made famous by Charles Darwin, who found them during his famous voyage of discovery on board the HMS Beagle in 1835. Darwin observed that tortoises on each of individual islands of the Galápagos chain had slightly different shaped shells. This was a clue that helped lead him to develop the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.
George first came to public attention in 1971 when he was relocated to the Charles Darwin Research Station (located on one of the islands) because the vegetation on the island where he lived had been devastated by goats that had introduced to the island by man. George is estimated to be 100 years old. But he is in good health and scientists think he could easily live for another 50 years or more. The Galápagos Islands tortoises are the largest living species of tortoise--Lonesome George is five feet long and weighs over 200 pounds.
George is called lonesome because there is no know females of his sub-species for him to mate with. Should she not turn up somewhere, and two tortoise hit it off, the Pinta tortoise will likely become extinct when Lonesome George dies. If you happen to find a Pinta female to introduce to George there is a reward of $10,000 waiting for you! You can learn more about Lonesome George on Wikipedia. A book about George titled "Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon" by Henry Nicholls was published in 2006.
If you go and visit Lonesome George be sure to put a picture in this beautiful Pewter Turtle Picture Frame from Turtle Treasures.
