Galapagos Tortoises thriving on remote island

• Ernie J


• 9 Feb 2013

Since the Redfoot Tortoise and the Galop are ancient relatives, I found this article on Galops coming back on a remote island a real happy one to read.

Lonesome George Is Dead, Long Live The Giant Galapagos Tortoise! Worldcrunch PUERTO BAQUERIZO MORENO – The famous giant tortoise of the Galapagos is saved! At least for now… It was thought that the ancient Galapagos tortoise endemic to these South American islands had gone extinct with last year’s death of Lonesome … …More at Lonesome George Is Dead, Long Live The Giant Galapagos Tortoise! – Worldcrunch

Lonesome George was the last of the Pinta Island Galops and it was a sad day when I heard he passed away last year.  There’s a PBS special on him from 2006 that covers the history of the Galops and how they were decimated by Whaling ships in the 1700’s and 1800’s.

If you can find on your local PBS station it’s worth watching.