Lonesome George comes back to life
The world's most famous tortoise Lonesome George might be dead for two years now, but visitors will still have the chance to see him at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, The Guardian reported.
Taxidermists from the American Museum of Natural History have been working on George to bring him back to life for almost a year now.
Taxidermy is the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals either for display or for other sources of study. The art is usually practiced on vertebrates.
He will be ready for display this week.
Lonesome George was a giant male tortoise from Pinta Island, which belongs to the famous Galapagos archipelago. He was the last known individual of his subspecies called Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii.
George was first spotted in 1971 by Hungarian scientist József Vágvölgyi. Due to habitat loss brought about by human presence, the population of the species had fallen down to just one individual, hence giving George his nickname, lonesome.
For decades, scientists tried to have George mate with two females from a close subspecies called Chelonoidis nigra becki. The mating efforts were successful and both females were able to lay eggs. However none of the eggs were viable and they didn't hatch. After the failed attempts, it was certain that George would keep his nickname forever.
Over the decades, George became a symbol of conservation efforts because he was a perfect example of how human activities destroy the habitat species live in. In other words, he became a lesson for everyone to learn from.
George spent the last 40 years of his life at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz island, which is one of the Galapagos Islands.
The archipelago is famous for its rich natural habitat, which harbors many endemic species, and was critical in the formation of the theory of evolution.
Charles Darwin visited the island during his voyage on the ship "Beagle". The observations he made in the Galapagos Islands, and the samples he collected during his stay contributed greatly to the development of his theory of evolution by natural selection.
