lordmongrove
Justified & Ancient
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Definite descendants discovered.
Conservationists working around the largest volcano on the Galapagos Islands say they have found 30 giant tortoises partially descended from two extinct species, including that of the famed Lonesome George.
The Galapagos National Park and Galapagos Conservancy said Friday that a young female has a direct line of descent from the Chelonoidis abingdonii species of Pinta Island. The last of those tortoises was Lonesome George, who died in June 2012 and was believed to be more than 100 years old.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/break...rtoise-species-found-in-galapagos-979298.html
Always nice to see a comeback from a species thought extinct or on the brink. These are some impressive reptile, they look gigantic from supplied photos.Brilliant news.
The death of Galápagos tortoise Lonesome George this summer was thought to mark the extinction of a subspecies, but a new study hints that the reptile may not have been the last of his kind after all.
Researchers from Yale University recently trekked to the northern tip of Isabella Island, the largest of the Galápagos, and collected DNA from more than 1,600 giant tortoises. The genetic samples showed that 17 of these tortoises were hybrids that had a parent like Lonesome George from the subspecies Chelonoidis abingdoni.
http://www.livescience.com/24806-galapa ... eorge.html
The gees of Lonesome George live on.
Diego, The Magnificent Hero of The Galapagos, Has Finally Returned Home
Diego the giant Galapagos tortoise whose tireless efforts are credited with almost single-handedly saving his once-threatened species, was put out to pasture Monday on his native island after decades of breeding in captivity, Ecuador's environment minister said. ...
"We are closing an important chapter" in the management of the park, said the minister Paulo Proano on Twitter, adding that 25 tortoises including the prolific Diego, "are going back home after decades of reproducing in captivity and saving their species from extinction." ...
Before being taken back by boat to Espanola, the 100-year-old Diego and the other tortoises had to undergo a quarantine period to avoid them carrying seeds from plants that are not native to the island.
Diego weighs about 80 kilograms (175 pounds), is nearly 90 centimeters (35 inches) long and 1.5 meters (five feet) tall, if he really stretches his legs and neck.
Diego's contribution to the program on Santa Cruz Island was particularly noteworthy, with park rangers believing him responsible for being the patriarch of at least 40 percent of the 2,000-tortoise population.
Around 50 years ago, there were only two males and 12 females of Diego's species alive on Espanola, and they were too spread out to reproduce. ...
Carrying a tortoise of that size on your back in the tropical heat is no mean feat.Galapagos, Ecuador
A park ranger carries Diego, a 100-year-old giant tortoise, to Las Tunas, an area off the coast of Española Island as he’s returned to his native island after breeding in captivity for several decades. The tortoise is considered a super male for helping to save his species from extinction
Photograph: Parque Nacional Galápagos/AFP/Getty Images
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