Lonely George the Tortoise May Remain Alone
"Lonesome George" is the last known surviving giant Pinta Tortoise from the island of Pinta in the Galapagos Islands. He has been dubbed the "rarest animal in the world". Earlier this year there was a ray of hope for George's romantic life. But new reports suggest that "Lonesome George" will have to remain lonely. Scientists were excited to find early in 2007 that on the nearby island of Isabela there was a male tortoise who seemed to be a cross between a Pinta male and an Isabela female. They were hopeful that this means they might find more Pinta tortoises on Isabela.
Sadly, George's keepers worry that even if a Pinta female is found George might not be able to perform. He has never seen his own species mating and has shown no interest in females of other species kept in his enclosure (even when he got to watch younger males of other species successfully mating). He also seems to have trouble producing sperm.
Lonesome George may well live to be 200 years old and regardless of whether he finds a mate he seems likely to remain a poster boy for endangered species.
(via Reuters )
