The last known specimen, named Lonesome George, died in captivity on 24 June 2012 George had been mated with female tortoises of several other subspecies, but none of the eggs from these pairings hatched. Lonesome George When did Galápagos tortoises go extinct? What was the name of the last Pinta tortoise? Vulnerable Galapagos Giant tortoises mate in a way which means that the female is not crushed by the male, who can weigh about 400kg. There are only a few hundred left in the wild and they are critically endangered. The Pinta Island tortoise, thought to have gone extinct with the death of Lonesome George in 2012, is not totally extinct as scientists found 31 tortoises on Isabella Island in the Galapagos Island chain that are believed to be partially descended from the Pinta Island tortoise (C.n.abingdoni). By the mid-20th century, the subspecies was assumed to be extinct until a single male was discovered on the island in 1971. Why did the Pinta tortoise go extinct?īy the end of the 19th century, most of the Pinta Island tortoises had been wiped out due to hunting. Fernanda, the only known living Fernandina giant tortoise, now lives at the Galpagos National Park’s Giant Tortoise Breeding Center on Santa Cruz Island. Is the giant tortoise still alive?įantastic giant tortoise,’ believed extinct, confirmed alive in the Galpagos. Two centuries ago, the Galapagos Islands were home to more than 200,000 giant tortoises today four species are extinct and only 10% of the original number remain. Other threats include the pet trade, overconsumption for food and medicine, pollution, invasive species, and climate change. Loss of habitat is the biggest threat to turtles and tortoises globally.
He was the last surviving land tortoise from Pinta Island, one of the northern islands in the Galpagos. On June 24, 2012, the world-famous giant tortoise affectionately known as Lonesome George passed away.
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