Original "Lonesome George 2007" Photograph with Photographer Signature
- Original photograph taken on October 22, 2007 by Christopher Werner at the Darwin Research Station, Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos. 11x14 photo matted and framed to 16x20, titled "Lonely George 2007" and signed by the photographer.
- 11x14 framed to 16x20
- From the photographer: "I still vividly remember meeting George, who at the time was 97 years old. He had personality and walked over to investigate and greet me. I knew at the time this was a special gift to meet the last of a species. Sadly, George died less than five years later."
- George's Biography
- Lonesome George, c. 1910 - June 24, 2012) was a male Pinta Island tortoise and the last known individual of the subspecies. In his last years, he was known as the rarest creature in the world. George serves as an important symbol for conservation efforts in the Galápagos Islands and throughout the world.
Discovery
George was first seen on the island of Pinta on November 1, 1971, by Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi. The island's vegetation had been devastated by introduced feral goats, and the indigenous population had been reduced to a single individual. It is thought that he was named after a character played by American actor George Gobel. He was relocated for his own safety to the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz Island, where he spent his life under the care of Fausto Llerena, for whom the tortoise breeding center is named.
It was hoped that more Pinta Island tortoises would be found, either on Pinta Island or in one of the world's zoos, similar to the discovery of the Espanola Island male in San Diego. No other Pinta Island tortoises were found. The Pinta Island tortoise was pronounced functionally extinct, as George was in captivity.
Over the decades, all attempts at mating Lonesome George had been unsuccessful.
Death
On June 24, 2012, at 8:00 A.M. local time, Galápagos National Park director Edwin Naula announced that Lonesome George had been found dead by Fausto Llerena, who had looked after him for forty years. Naula suspected that the cause of death was
cardiac arrest. A
necropsy confirmed that George died from natural causes. The body of Lonesome George was frozen and shipped to the
American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
After a short display at the museum, Lonesome George's taxidermy was returned to the Galápagos and is displayed at the Galapagos National Park headquarters on Santa Cruz Island for future generations to see.
