'Extinct' tortoise might not be lost yet

Pinta Island giant tortoise 'Lonesome George' was thought to be the last of his species, but was he ?

When George died back in June it was thought that his species had gone extinct, however now it appears that there could be as many as 17 more tortoises on the Galapagos Islands which may share the same genetic traits or genus. A spokesman for the Galapagos National Park issue a statement which iterated that George's death "does not represent the end of the Chelonoidis abingdonii species of Pinta Island giant tortoises."

So could it be that Lonesome George wasn't quite as lonesome as believed ? While it isn't conclusive, there is a chance that other pure Pinta Island tortoises could still be out there. If this turns out to be true then it represents one final opportunity to breed the species before it really does disappear for good.


  View: Full article |  Source: Telegraph

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