Nature & Environment

Extinct giant tortoises could live again

By T.K. Randall
December 10, 2015 ·  8 comments

Lonesome George as pictured before his death in 2012. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Arturo de Frias Marques The giant tortoise is perhaps the most recognizable of all the creatures found on the Galapagos Islands and one that has become synonymous with conservation efforts in recent years.

The most famous tortoise of all - Lonesome George - was the very last of the Pinta subspecies of giant tortoise which sadly went extinct when he died of heart failure back in 2012.

Now however scientists believe that it may be possible to bring two extinct subspecies of giant tortoise, including the Pinta, back to life through a complex breeding program involving live specimens whose ancestors belonged to those particular subspecies in the distant past.The team hopes that over the course of several hundred years this method will make it possible for them to effectively breed Lonesome George's descendants in to existence.

Described as "one of the most ambitious species recovery efforts ever undertaken in the world", the project has already seen 32 giant tortoise specimens retrieved from the Galapagos that will become the basis for the breeding program over the next few decades.

"It will take time to restore Floreana and Pinta tortoises - maybe 200 to 300 years," said Washington Tapia, director of the giant tortoise restoration initiative. "But I am absolutely convinced that there are enough tortoises in captivity and in the wild to do this."

Source: National Geographic | Comments (8)

Tags: Giant Tortoise