LONESOME GEORGE

Recently, a news item seized my attention. It was heartening to learn that  Lonesome George, the giant tortoise that passed away during last June in Galapagos islands, may not be extinct afterall.

           

It is said that Lonesome George’s  discovery in 1971-72 on the Pinta island came as a relief because till then it was believed that the entire population of this species had been lost to ravages by human settlers who had killed these peaceful creatures for  meat besides destroying their natural habitat by introducing goats in the area.

The animal was discovered in 1971 by Josef Vagvolgyi, a Scientist from Hungary. Eventually, the Galapagos National Park authorities brought the tortoise to the Tortoise Centre at Santa Cruz in 1972 for its upkeep.   The reptile was well looked after by health experts till the end of his life. However, he remained lonesome because a partner could not be found for him.

By the way, the creature was reportedly named as Lonesome George by the American media after George Gobel, a TV comedian, who had earned the name Lonesome George for himself. The animal was keeping good health and was considered to be almost 100 years of age at the time of passing away. Tortoises are long lived animals, going strong upto 175 years in some cases. The slow pace of metabolism is another advantage because they can remain alive without food or water for almost a year.

Galapagos has a history in biodiversity. The island is famed for its share of contribution in the Theory of Evolution written by Darwin after studying the variations in the shapes and sizes of the beaks of the finches he found there. The gifted naturalist, Darwin, undertook his voyage to Galapagos on the HMS Beagle in 1831. He deduced that these birds acquired a random mutation so as to develop a beak shape appropriate for the food available in the area. For instance, in the areas abundant in insects, the finches acquired sharp thin beaks. Alternately, in places where they had access to buds, fruits and nuts, they managed large claw shaped beaks. Darwin was quick to understand that this had resulted from natural selection of biological traits for better adaptability and survival of the birds in a particular environment. Consequently, this mutation was passed on to the offspring and the characteristic was found in the entire populace of the particular area.

Coming back to Lonesome George, a study by researchers at Yale University has revealed that this giant tortoise’s DNA is still alive in Volcano Wolf, another island in Galapagos.  A population of almost 1700 tortoises has been found in this secluded island. Though these are hybrid varieties, it is hoped that pure Pinta variety may also be around because the population includes young ones under the age of 20 years.