Apr

30

2007
 
 

High hopes for George



Is the loneliest animal on the planet ready for a relationship?

good lookin' fellaPerhaps Lonesome George isn’t the end of the line for Galápagos giant tortoises Geochelone abingdoni after all. Writing in Current Biology this week, a group of scientists including UBC’s Michael Russello and Yale’s Gisella Caccone describe how a hybrid tortoise has turned up on Isabela, a neighboring island to George’s homeland of Pinta. This first generation cross, revealed only through modern genetic techniques, raises hopes that a full-blown member of George’s clan might be found among the one or two thousand animals in the Isabela population. And if she is, could we ever hear the pitter-patter of tiny tortoise feet? No pressure George, of course… Source: Russello MA, Beheregaray LB, Gibbs JP, Fritts T, Havill N, Powell JR & Caccone A (2007) Lonesome George is not alone among Galápagos tortoises. Current Biology DOI: tba

Image © Alison Llerena/CDRS

Filed Under Climate change, Endangered species, Habitat, Restoration, Monitoring | 

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