The Galapagos’s Most Eligible Bachelor

The Galapagos Islands are famous for their giant tortoises – in fact they were named for them. Here you can see 200 kg tortoises measuring over 1 metre in length. Humans have not been kind to the tortoises over the centuries however (apparently they make good eatin’), and of the 14 species originally found on the islands, 4 are extinct in the wild.

Lonesome George is the last remaining tortoise from the island of Pinta, where the island’s unique subspecies was thought to have been extinct since the early 1900s. George was discovered during an expedition in 1971 and brought to what is now known as the Charles Darwin Research Station. The survival of his species depends on finding George a mate, and for the past 37 years, researchers have been trying (unsuccessfully) to do just that. George can live to 200 years old, so there’s still hope for the survival of the Pinta Tortoise. Advances in science (specifically DNA) are providing new hope.

At about 85 years old, George has led a solitary life – he tends to withdraw from other tortoises and people. He’s even been the target of a kidnapping plot a few years ago, when sea cucumber fishermen were protesting government quotas. Earlier this year there was new excitement for his potential fatherhood, when 13 eggs were found in his pen, produced by two females conservationists hoped George would get it on with, but it seems most of those may be infertile. Hope is dwindling but not gone.

We were lucky to see Lonesome George during our visit to the Darwin Research Station—he doesn’t often come out from under the bushes. A true conservation icon, Lonesome George is a constant reminder that the long term consequences of our actions can be far reaching and beyond what we can imagine.