Lonesome George - The Last Living Tortoise of his Kind - Could Finally Be a Dad
The last known living Geochelone abigdoni tortoise will hopefully be a dad this time around. He has been living with two female tortoises of a similar species - and now there are five eggs.
200-pound George, between 90 and 100 years old,was discovered in 1972. Last year, one of his female companions laid eggs, but they turned out to be infertile. The female tortoises are of the species Geochelone becki. The tortoises reside at Galapagos National Park.
According to recent reports, it will be known in 120 days if the eggs are fertile. The eggs are currently in the incubation center.
Galapagos tortoises were hunted to extinction by sailors and fishermen, and introduced animals, such as goats have eaten away their habitat. The Galapagos tortoise was one of the species that Charles Darwin observed in formulating his theory of evolution.
Here’s hoping for hatchlings!
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikeweston/ / CC BY 2.0
[...] the country, who knows how fast this number could decline. Technically, it’s illegal for the tortoise to be taken out of Madagascar, but an ongoing political turmoil makes it easier to slip out exotic [...]