Ecuador's famous Lonesome George, the last remaining Pinta Island giant tortoise passed away on Sunday in the Galapagos Islands, leaving behind no known offspring, the Galapagos National Park in Ecuador said in a statement. Lonesome George's longtime caretaker, Fausto Llerena, found the giant tortoise stretched out in the “direction of his watering hole” on Santa Cruz Island, the statement said. Estimated to be more than 100-years-old, the tortoise's cause of death remains unclear and a autopsy of the animal is to be conducted in the near future. Lonesome George is being kept in a cold chamber to prevent decomposition prior to the procedure. Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island in 1972 at a time when giant tortoises of his type, Geochelone nigra abingdoni, were already believed to be extinct. Since then, the animal had been part of the park service's tortoise programme, but repeated efforts to breed Lonesome George failed. “The plight of Lonesome George provided a catalyst for an extraordinary effort by the government of Ecuador to restore not only tortoise populations throughout the archipelago but also improve the status of other endangered and threatened species,” the park said. In honor of Lonesome George, the park said it was convening an international workshop in July on management strategies for restoring tortoise populations over the next decade.
