Visitors to the Galapagos have no doubt caught a glimpse of one of the islands’ more famous inhabitants, a very rare sea turtle that is believed to be the last of his subspecies, and the rarest creature on Earth, who was affectionately dubbed Lonesome George more than three decades ago, when he was first brought to the his current home.
The Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, who weighs nearly 200 pounds, has never mated, and his species is in danger of disappearing completely when George finally passes on. But earlier this week it was announced that George has found a mate at last (two in fact!) and he may be a father sometime in the next 120 days.
George has recently been shacking up with two females of a different subspecies, and last week his handlers discovered five perfect eggs in the sea tortoise pen. They were carefully removed, weighed, and put into an incubator, where they will be watched carefully over the next 16 weeks until they hatch.
For the Pinta Island Giant Tortoise, this may be a glimmer of hope of salvaging the species from the brink of extinction. Although George is estimated to be about 90 years old, he is just now entering his sexual prime, and the species can live to be 150. That means he has the chance to father a few more children in the decades ahead, and perhaps we’ll see more of his species returning to the Galapagos.