Lonesome George

The story of Lonesome George is a sad one and when you first learn of his name, which hints at his past status on this earth, the lonely only skims the surface. All stories should start at their beginning and Lonesome Georges story starts in the late 1700s when the whaling ships first starting passing through and around the Galápagos Archipelago. These buccaneers, whalers, fur sealers and pirates discovered that they could collect the Galápagos giant tortoises for food and oil with the added benefit that these animals can survive up to one year without food or water in the holds of the ships, thus providing a supply of fresh meat on their long voyages. When word of this spread the exploitation of the species resulted in the loss of between 100,000 to 200,000 Galápagos tortoises over the next century to today. There are 14 different species of Galápagos giant tortoises, three of which have been extinct for some time and the fourth, well you guessed it, it was Lonesome George, the last known Pinta Island giant tortoise, who died on June 24, 2012.

It is also worth mentioning that the Galápagos giant tortoises were at risk of extinction from the introduced invasive non-native feral goats, pigs, and donkeys that created competition for food. They are still at risk from rats, and the feral cats and dogs that dig up the nest to eat the eggs. It is estimated that only 20,000-25,000 wild tortoises live on the islands today.

In 1846 a Canadian by the name of Abraham Gesner had found a way to distill kerosene from petroleum, which started the reduction of the world’s dependency on whale oil and triggered a rapid decline in the whaling industry. However by then the Galápagos Archipelago had suffered immense and irreparable damage but with the continued conservation works there is good news, in January of this year there was the discovery of wild clutches of tortoise eggs hatching on Pinzón Island.

As for Lonesome George he was spotted on Pinta Island in 1971 and when the news of his spotting was shared in 1972 there was much rejoicing as it was thought that the tortoises on Pinta Island had already become extinct many years before. It was then that George was collected from Pinta Island and taken to the Tortoise Breeding and Rearing Center on Santa Cruz Island where he lived for the next 40 years. Lonesome George was thought to be more than 100 years old when he passed away which would mean that he spent over 60 years on the island and most of this time it is thought that he was all by himself, based on the fact that when they placed him in the pen with other tortoises Lonesome George was very aggressive and unsociable. Too much time alone on his island had changed his behavior to dislike his fellow tortoises so they built him a pen of his very own.

There is a very good story about Lonesome George and the days following his death to his new legacy at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, New York U.S.A. Read that story by clicking the link HERE. It is also worth noting that in January of this year, 2015, Lonesome George was to be returned to Quito Ecuador but Alex, our Naturalist Guide, mentioned that the Ecuadorian government has decided to leave Lonesome George on permanent loan to the American Museum of Natural History.