Lonesome George was a representative of the Galapagos tortoises. Lonesome George is the world's most famous turtle. Is it possible to restore Abingdon tortoises?

12.07.2012 - 15:55

In the summer of 2012, one of the subspecies of turtles, the Abingdon elephant tortoise, was moved from the Red Book to the “black” list - a list of animals that have disappeared forever from our planet. This turtle was named Lonely George in honor of the American actor George Gobel, of course, not because of external resemblance - the actor was simply an inveterate bachelor, and the turtle, to the great grief of zoologists, had the same tendency...

Confirmed bachelor

The last representative of the now extinct subspecies was Lonesome George, an 88-kilogram tortoise, 1 m 80 cm long, discovered by Hungarian naturalists on the small island of Pinta (north of the Galapagos archipelago) in 1972. More than a hundred years earlier, almost all Abingdon turtles were exterminated by whalers and fishermen - this specimen survived miraculously.

No matter how hard they tried to find a match for Lonely George from Pinta Island, nothing worked. And on June 24, 2012, he died at the age of either 70 or 170 years (researchers could not determine the exact figure) without leaving any offspring.

George became a celebrity long before his death. Almost immediately after it was discovered by researchers, it was transported to national park Galapagos Islands, they looked after him, fed him and protected him in every possible way. Tens of thousands of tourists came to see the unique turtle, among whom were: famous people like Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Prince Charles. Writer Henry Nichols even wrote a book about her: Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of the World's Most Famous Turtle.

Gourmet Cynicism

It is possible that already now the only places, where animals can somehow survive there will be carefully protected reserves and national parks. In any other place, wild fauna are at risk of death. This is especially true for completely defenseless turtles. The fact is that the meat of these reptiles is highly valued by gourmets and is considered a delicacy in many countries.

The worst thing about the extermination of turtles, and other animals, is that man, while satisfying his whims, cannot do without cruelty. One traveler describes with disgust the picture he saw on one of the southern markets: “Buyers probably want to get the meat as fresh as possible, or sellers don’t want to go to the trouble of killing the animal, so they simply separate the chest shell from a living turtle and cut out, at the buyer’s request, the specified piece of meat from the victim’s body. The European is horrified to see how the tortured animal rolls its eyes, slowly opens and closes its mouth, and how the heart beats, which is usually the last thing to demand.” In theory, after such a spectacle, even a very tasty piece of turtle meat will not go down your throat, but this does not bother local gourmets.

As already mentioned, fishermen made a special “contribution” to the extermination of turtles. Sailors cynically called them “live canned food” because reptiles, once caught, could live for months in the hold of a ship without water or food, waiting for the moment when they would be cooked and served. Back in the 16th century, there were about a quarter of a million Galapagos tortoises. By 1970, there were no more than three thousand of them left. Judging by the ship's logs, only 79 whaling ships over 36 years (in the middle of the 19th century) took more than 10 thousand reptiles from the archipelago.

There is information that at the beginning of the 18th century, on one of the islands, about 40,000 individuals of one of the turtle species that lived there were released... to feed pigs.

Hunting for offspring

Not only land turtles, but also sea turtles are endangered. Submitting to the whims of gourmets, the “getters” hunt both the reptiles themselves and their unborn offspring.

One sea ​​turtle lays approximately 100 eggs per year. For their clutches, females dig small holes in the sand of once deserted beaches. But the local population is well aware of the permanent nesting sites, and every season a ruthless hunt begins for turtles and their eggs. The sales market for mining is unusually voracious.

Mexicans, for example, believe that turtle eggs increase male potency and, despite the fact that the authorities have been fighting poachers for many years, all street vendors in Mexico City know where to get a delicacy for a real macho. In fact, uncontrolled hunting for turtle offspring ultimately led to the fact that only one turtle in four thousand has a chance of reaching sexual maturity.

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The last known representative of the Abingdon elephant tortoise subspecies (lat. Geochelone nigra ssp. abingdoni), a male named Lonesome George, died on June 24 in the Galapagos national park.

Lonely George (Spanish Solitario Jorge; English Lonesome George) is a male Galapagos tortoise, considered the last and only representative of the subspecies Abingdon elephant tortoise (lat. Geochelone nigra ssp. abingdoni). Elephant tortoises are a rare species of giant Pinto tortoise found exclusively in the Galapagos Islands. George has become a symbol of conservation in the Galapagos Islands.

George was found by a Hungarian scientist on Pinta Island (a small island in the north of the archipelago, also called Abingdon) in 1972. Named after American actor George Goebel. Theoretically, turtles of this species are able to retain the ability to reproduce at the age of 200 years. Since George's death, the Abingdon elephant tortoise subspecies is considered extinct.

For decades, zoologists tried to obtain offspring from George, but without success. At one time, scientists believed that George was not capable of reproduction at all, but this turned out not to be the case. In May 2007, after a genetic analysis of 2,000 turtles, a female from Wolf Volcano was discovered that was genetically similar to George, was a hybrid, and had George's relative on her father's side, after which hope arose for continuation of the family. Fertilization occurred, but the embryos in the eggs were not viable.

George was often called the most famous bachelor in the world.

The popular science book “Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of the world's most famous tortoise” by Henry Nichols is dedicated to Lonesome George.

On June 24, 2012, the body of a unique reptile was discovered without signs of life by the caretaker of the reserve, Fausto Llereno, who had been caring for the turtle for 40 years. Lonely George died at the age of about 100 without siring any offspring. This means the extinction of the corresponding subspecies. After the autopsy, the turtle will be embalmed and displayed in a local museum so that future generations will have a clear understanding of the extinct reptile.

A tortoise named Lonesome George, believed to be the last of the Abingdon elephant tortoise subspecies, died of natural causes in late June at a sanctuary on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands archipelago.

However, recently, as reported in the British press, scientists have found relatives of George. Thus, George's death does not mean the extinction of the subspecies.

Galapagos National Park said in a statement that there are at least 17 tortoises in the Galapagos Islands that share genetic traits with George, including some from the same genus. So George's death doesn't mean the end of the giant tortoise species. Chelonoidis abingdonii.


This conclusion was reached by Yale University scientists who discovered nine females, three males and five hatchlings with the genes of the giant tortoise from Pinta Island, where Lonesome George was found in 1972.

“Researchers compared more than 1,600 DNA samples taken in 2008 from turtles living near the Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island with George’s genes and samples stored at the Pinta Island Turtle Museum. The results showed that among the turtles at the Volcano there may be hybrids , and some individuals on Pinta may be purebred,” the newspaper notes.

Scientists have found Lonesome George in December 1972 on Pinta Island. He received his name in honor of the American actor George Gobel. The turtle was later transported to another island in the archipelago. George was held in captivity at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands.


For decades, scientists have been trying to get offspring from the union of Lonesome George and Galapagos tortoises other subspecies, but this did not work out. One day, a female Galapagos tortoise laid eggs after mating with George, but the babies never hatched.

Giant Galapagos tortoises can weigh up to four hundred kilograms and reach 1.8 meters in length. Elephant tortoises were extirpated from the Galapagos Islands about 150 years ago. According to documentary sources, whalers took several million individuals from the islands during the 18th and 19th centuries as provisions.

Sailors called turtles “live canned food” because they could live for a long time in the hold of a ship without food or water. Currently, 30-40 thousand turtles live on the islands. different types, while several centuries ago their numbers were ten times higher.

The Galapagos Islands are located in Pacific Ocean and belong to the state of Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands area is home to many unique species, including giant tortoises, iguanas, several species of birds and other animals.

According to scientists, observations of Galapagos tortoises became the starting point for Charles Darwin in creating the theory of evolution through natural selection. While traveling around these islands, the scientist noticed that the shells of turtles with different islands have differences in shape.

Based on materials from ria.ru

Early in the morning on Sunday, June 24, died, perhaps, the most famous turtle in the world - a Galapagosian named Lonesome George. Together with George, an entire subspecies of giant reptiles, which once inhabited the Galapagos Islands in large numbers, but were exterminated by people in just a hundred years, disappeared from the planet.

Background

The first of the many islands of the Galapagos archipelago was formed about 5-10 million years ago. Its “parent” was a volcano: the material that makes up the island is solidified lava. Following the first island, a second, third, and so on formed - now the group includes 16 large islands and many small formations. The archipelago is located in the area of ​​the Galapagos Rift - a transverse fault in the earth's crust, which manifests itself as constant ejections of lava. This volcanically active zone is called the Nazca Plateau, and it is slowly moving to the southeast at a speed of about seven centimeters per year. Accordingly, older islands move away over time, giving way to younger ones.

Moving away from the place of their formation, the islands are slowly covered with vegetation, although rather sparse in comparison with mainland regions located at the same latitude - that is, almost on the equator. But relative poverty flora is more than compensated by its uniqueness. There are practically no sources of fresh water on the islands, and the climate there is very cool, so the plants that dared to gain a foothold in the Galapagos had to develop a fair number of adaptations to the harsh conditions.

Island animals also differ markedly from their relatives by " mainland" - the vast majority of species living in the Galapagos are endemic, that is, unique to this particular place. Remaining on the islands, quadrupeds and birds received a bleak landscape, a harsh climate and often a very poor choice of food, but they saved themselves from countless predators of the mainland.

Story

George's ancestors appeared on one of the smallest islands of the Pinta archipelago a long time ago. The giant tortoises - the length of the dorsal shield of their shell reaches one meter or more - had no natural enemies on the Galapagos, so they reproduced for their own pleasure and roamed freely around the island, eating lush grass. The slow-moving, bony-plated reptiles were so numerous that the islands were even named after them - the Spanish word "galapago" refers to a species of aquatic turtle.

While we were at the top of the island, we ate exclusively turtle meat. The roasted breast part of the shell with the meat remaining on it is very good, and the babies make an excellent soup. But in general, turtle meat, to my taste, is nothing special.

The island idyll remained unchanged for thousands of years, until one day, which was no different from the others, people appeared on the island. They quickly realized that turtles were not able to defend themselves from enemies, and since there was no other food for Pinto, they quickly mastered cooking various dishes from turtle meat. Sailors hunted not only adult turtles, but also hatchlings, from which they made a very tender soup.

A little later, people decided to colonize the Galapagos and, in order to make life on the uncomfortable islands more pleasant, they brought domestic animals with them. This turned out to be a fatal decision: while the pigs simply trampled down the grass, the goats ate it at such a rate that entire turtle families died of starvation. There were also dogs who did not dare to attack turtles, but who took great pleasure in catching unsuspecting iguanas. Gradually, giant tortoises on Pinta Island became less and less common until they disappeared completely.

Several more decades passed, and when it seemed that the island was completely lost, the situation suddenly changed for the better. Similar processes occurred on the islands neighboring Pinto, and although due to their larger size the consequences there were not as catastrophic, it became obvious to ecologists that the Galapagos Islands needed to be saved, and urgently. To prevent the transformation of a unique nature reserve into a lifeless desert, in 1974 a large-scale program was launched on the archipelago to restore the turtle population. Scientists have also tried to save other endemic animals.

To stop the destruction of the islands, it was necessary to first get rid of goats and other introduced species. In 1959, fishermen brought with them only three herbivores: a male and two females. By 1973, more than 30 thousand individuals already lived on the island. The extermination of the goats that had bred on the archipelago required a lot of effort from ecologists: this task was finally completed only in 2009. During the impact phase, more than 80 thousand animals were collected and over six million dollars were spent.

At the same time, the researchers, as best they could, restored the number of turtles on the islands. As a result of their efforts, the number of giant reptiles has increased from 3 thousand in 1974 to 20 thousand today.

The present

But for the subspecies Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni, to which Lonesome George belonged, the story, alas, was over forever. At the beginning of the Galapagos Islands restoration program it was believed that C. n. abingdoni became extinct, but in 1972 (according to other sources, in 1971), the Hungarian biologist Jozsef Vagvolgyi noticed a characteristic silhouette on Pinta Island. The miraculously preserved turtle was placed in a specially equipped enclosure and they began to search for suitable partners for George.

Since other known representatives of the subspecies C. n. abingdoni There were none left, the scientists selected girlfriends for George from the closest possible groups. In the end we settled on two females caught on neighboring island Isabel. For the first 15 years of their marriage, George showed no interest in the ladies, but in 2008, one of the turtles laid eggs. Scientists immediately placed them in an incubator, but, despite all the careful care, not a single cub hatched. A year later, one of George's companions laid eggs again, and again to no avail.

The lonely male no longer tried to leave offspring - perhaps the difference between the two subspecies, insignificant for people, seemed too big for him. In 2011, two females from the island of Hispaniola, belonging to the subspecies C. n. hoodensis- a more thorough analysis showed that genetically they are closer to George than the turtles from Isabella. The new girlfriends remained with the person being rescued until his death, but George did not want to mate with any of them.

The corpse of the last representative of a once numerous subspecies C. n. abingdoni discovered in the early morning of June 24 by the caretaker of the enclosure, who had been caring for the turtle for more than 40 years. Judging by his posture, George was heading towards the watering hole. The exact cause of the animal’s death is still unknown; in the near future, experts intend to conduct an autopsy to understand what happened to it. By the standards of giant turtles, which are believed to live for two hundred years, George was still very young - he was unlikely to be much over a hundred.

Future

Despite the tragedy of what happened, some researchers believe that the subspecies C. n. abingdoni can still be restored. According to some reports, the giant tortoise living at the Prague Zoo is the same species as George. Later, DNA analysis refuted these assumptions, but in 2007, scientists discovered animals on Isabella Island whose genes contained about half of George’s genes. In other words, the turtles found were most likely born from a union C. n. abingdoni with a representative of some other subspecies. And it cannot be ruled out that the parent of the unusual animals has not yet died, which means it is possible to find him.

Kingdom: Animalia.
Phylum: Chordata.
Class: Reptiles (Reptilia).
Order: Turtles (Testudines).
Family: Land turtles (Testudinidae).
Genus: American tortoises (Chelonoidis).
Species: Elephant turtle (Chelonoidis nigra).
Subspecies: Abingdon elephant tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni).

WHY IS IT LISTED IN THE RED BOOK

The Abingdon elephant tortoise is one of the most striking examples of the fact that the Red Book is a “living” book. Changes occur every day and perhaps every hour. Scientists do not always have time to quickly monitor what is happening and find a sufficient number of convincing facts. It is clear that by the time this publication is published, Abingdon elephant tortoises will be classified as black-colored EX, an endangered species. As we have already said, when work began on the description of this subspecies, the last representative of the rare taxon was still alive. His name was Lonesome George.

Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island (Abingdon) on December 1, 1972 and taken under surveillance. Last years his life he lived in the Galapagos National Park of Ecuador, at the station named after. Charles Darwin on St. Croix. Here they looked after George well and hoped to get viable offspring from him. Attempts were made several times to cross George with females of other subspecies without success. Although the eggs were laid, none hatched. Scientists believe that George was 90-100 years old at the time of his death. Since these reptiles were long-lived in the animal world and retained the ability to reproduce almost until the end of their lives, during George’s lifetime there was still hope for a successful restoration of the subspecies’ numbers. Researchers will have to carefully test the genetic structure of populations of other related taxa living in the Galapagos Islands. There needs to be real evidence that George was, in fact, “the last of his kind.”

In the 19th century Abingdon elephant tortoises were found in abundance on Pinta Island. The main reason for the disappearance of the subspecies was that almost all the vegetation on the island was exterminated by feral goats. As a result, the turtles have no food resources left. The clumsy and slow reptiles were easy prey for poachers.

By the beginning of the 1970s. XX century Only one representative of the subspecies managed to survive. Until the very end, scientists hoped to restore the subspecies and return it to natural environment a habitat. In addition, numerous attempts to regulate the goat population on Pinta Island were ultimately successful, and the island's grass cover was finally restored. Lonesome George was a symbol of the Galapagos Islands and the conservation movement in general. Various celebrities came to visit Lonely George, including Prince Charles and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE?

The Abingdon elephant tortoise is an endemic subspecies that lived exclusively on desert island Pint as part of the Galapagos Archipelago.

HOW TO FIND OUT

Abingdon elephant tortoises 100% justified the species name given to them - “elephant”. These were real giants, sometimes reaching a body weight of 300-350 kg. Their large, ossified carapace was colored a rich gray-brown. In all turtles, including elephant turtles, the ribs and spine are inseparably fused with the carapace. This system forms a powerful defense for the body. Therefore, the myth that a turtle can leave its “house” has no scientific evidence. The body of the turtles was covered with dry, wrinkled skin. Elephant turtles had a long neck and a relatively small head. Males were almost twice as large as females.

LIFESTYLE AND BIOLOGY

Being cold-blooded animals, turtles crawled out in the morning to bask in the sun. The dark color of the shell helped absorb more sunlight and warm the body better. Then the turtles spent most of their time searching for food. Moving at an average speed of 0.3 km/h, they systematically explored the territory of their native island, hoping to find fresh, juicy grass to maintain vitality. Elephant turtles were distinguished by almost undeveloped hearing, but an excellent sense of smell and good vision.

During the mating season, males staged ritual fights, trying to determine the most important and powerful one. They craned their necks, opened their mouths, and took ritual positions. At this time, as well as at the moment of mating, males could puff and hiss, trying to possible ways express their overwhelming emotions. For oviposition, females went to dry, well-warmed sandy beaches. Sometimes it took them several days to dig a hole about 30 cm deep. Using their hind legs, the female Abingdon elephant tortoise patiently performed complex and serious work. The sex of embryos in these reptiles depends on the temperature of the environment. At lower temperatures, more males are born, and at higher temperatures, more females. Incubation could last from four to eight months. After birth, babies faced many dangers. First of all, they needed to get to the surface and not become victims of birds of prey. Puberty occurred at the age of about 20-25 years.

Elephant tortoises have made enormous contributions to the development of the general theory of evolution. After all, it was them, or rather the external differences of individuals living in different environmental conditions, that Charles Darwin noticed during trip around the world on the Beagle. The fact is that the size and shape of the shell of representatives of different populations of elephant turtles are very different. This made the great scientist think seriously about the influence of the environment on the body.

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