Thursday, June 20, 2013   |   15,816 users online
Contact us    |    Advertise    |   Help   RSS icon Twitter icon Facebook icon
    Home  ·  News  ·  Forum  ·  Image Gallery  ·  Columns  ·  Encyclopedia  ·  Videos  ·  Chat  ·  Blogs
Find: in
    You are viewing: Home > News > Natural World > News story
Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )

'Extinct' Galapagos tortoise may still exist


Posted on Wednesday, 11 January, 2012 | Comment icon 4 comments | News tip by: Still Waters


Image credit: Wikipedia

 
A species of giant tortoise thought to have been extinct for 150 years could still be alive.

The tortoises were thought to have been hunted to extinction, in particular by whalers who would visit the Galapagos to re-stock. A team from Yale University however has discovered hybrid tortoises that appear to be the offspring of one of the 'extinct' Chelonoidis elephantopus tortoises along with another species of tortoise, a find that suggests that some of them must still be alive somewhere.

A giant Galapagos tortoise believed extinct for 150 years probably still exists, say scientists. Chelonoidis elephantopus lived on the island of Floreana, and was heavily hunted, especially by whalers who visited the Galapagos to re-stock.

  View: Full article |  Source: BBC News

  Discuss: View comments (4)

 

 
Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by Junior Chubb on 11 January, 2012, 10:52
Great news, but the image used by UM just reminds me of Victor Meldew. Maybe the Chelonoidis elephantopus tortoises only had 'one foot in the grave'.
Comment icon #2 Posted by Device on 11 January, 2012, 14:17
So some of them survived the slaughter of years past. They must've hid in the undergrowth. Good on them and God bless them.
Comment icon #3 Posted by King Fluffs on 11 January, 2012, 17:35
Wow... those are big.
Comment icon #4 Posted by DieChecker on 11 January, 2012, 22:19
I never noticed before, but the main island is pretty big, like 100 miles long. That would be a big tortoise...
Please Login or Register to post a comment.
Forum topics in this category
Forum icon 
 Natural World
  my view on hunting.
  Exotic plant flowers once in its lifetime
  Cheetahs set to be released into the wild
  10 Spectacular Bees Native To The U.S.
  Bear admires its own reflection in lake
  Zoo liger gives birth to three liliger cubs
  The bizarre pink lakes from around the world
  'Hoff' yeti crab hitched ride
  Beetles: Older males 'make better dads'
  debarking a dog.
  Fox with head in jar approaches men for help
  2013 list of fur farms
  declawing cats
Other recent forum topics
Forum icon 
 Cryptozoology, Myths and Legends
  Citizens hearing on UFO disclosure 2013 Pt.1
  New show series on "Destination America"
  Bigfoot Footprints Found in Malaysia
 US Politics
  Don’t describe suspect’s gender, race, age
  Bloomberg names Bst Bomber as Victim
  'Taliban is ready to talk peace'
 Conspiracies & Secret Societies
  sandy hook "exposed"?
  Snowden helps NSA spot future revolutionaries
  911 inside job - for what?
 View: Discussion forum
Other news in this category
How do marine mammals hold their breath ?
Posted 6-16-2013 | 1 comment
Scientists may have solved how marine mammals are able to hold their breath for up to an hour....
 
'Hidden' fires burning in Amazon rainforest
Posted 6-14-2013 | 14 comments
Wildfires beneath the jungle canopy are proving more destructive than human deforestation....
 
Western black rhino goes extinct
Posted 6-11-2013 | 53 comments
The species has been officially declared extinct due to no reported sightings over the last seven years....
 
Video of live oarfish revealed
Posted 6-8-2013 | 13 comments
Some of the first ever footage of a live, healthy oarfish has been released by researchers....
 
15 new bird species found in the Amazon
Posted 6-7-2013 | 8 comments
The Amazon rainforest has yielded a treasure trove of 15 species of previously undiscovered birds....
 
Massive shark caught off California coast
Posted 6-6-2013 | 47 comments
A huge shortfin mako shark caught in Southern California looks like it could be a world record breaker....
 
Man stung to death by 40,000 killer bees
Posted 6-4-2013 | 27 comments
In a tragic accident a man from Texas was killed after running in to a beehive with his tractor....
 
Are plants on track to go it alone ?
Posted 5-31-2013 | 10 comments
With a global decline in pollinators, many plant species will either have to adapt or face extinction....
 
 View: More news in this category
 
Top   |  Home   |   Forum   |   News   |   Image Gallery   |  Columns   |   Encyclopedia   |   Videos   |   Polls

UM-X 10.5 Unexplained-Mysteries.com © 2001-2013
Privacy Policy and Disclaimer   |   Cookies   |   Advertise   |   Contact   |   Help/FAQ