And he was only 100 years old.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDYqZncKNNc
We're sorry to report that this past Monday Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island giant tortoise, passed away at his Galápagos Islands habitat. George was more than 100 years old—which, believe it or not, is relatively young for a giant tortoise—and it’s still not clear why he died. Check out the above footage, via The Associated Press.
George wasn’t the last giant tortoise in the Galápagos—there are about 20,000 left—but rather the last known member of his subspecies. Scientists had tried to mate him with females from a closely related subspecies, but all of the eggs were infertile. Goodbye George, we hope you have other Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii to hang out with on that Galápagos island in the sky.
Video via The Associated Press
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