After more than a decade trying to mate to perpetuate the species, the last male of the species has just diedChelonoidis Abingdoni, a type of giant tortoise that lived in the Galapagos Islands. It is estimated that this animal was over 100 years old.
This has been confirmed by the Directorate of the Galapagos National Park (GNPD) who have reported the discovery of the famous dead turtle when it was heading to the drinking fountain. And it is one of the most emblematic specimens in the habitat not only because it is the last of its kind, but also because it is part of the GNPD’s captive breeding program.
For 15 years it has been tried to get “Solitary George” to mate with females of the Wolf volcano species, with whom he managed to do so, but without actually forming fertile eggs. Likewise, mating with females of the species from the Española island was sought, but the work was not fruitful either.
One of lime and one of sand
This news has come a week after the announcement by the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) of a decrease in the mortality of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta , on the island of Boavista in Cape Verde. According to data collected since 2007 by Spanish researchers, fewer and fewer turtles of this endangered species die thanks “to the efforts and awareness of the indigenous population, cooperation initiatives for the sustainable development of local communities and by the monitoring and protection exercised by the international volunteer camps set up on the beaches “, explained from the CSIC.
The beaches of this island are home to the second most important loggerhead sea turtle population in the Atlantic and the third largest in the world, with more than 4,000 specimens per linear kilometer. Hence the importance of this ecological good news.
According to the data obtained, while in 2007 more than 1,200 females were hunted on the beaches of Boavista, in 2011 a total of 55 were hunted, which has allowed better reproduction rates of this species .
The efforts to protect endangered species seek the clear objective of preventing species from being doomed to disappearance, whether for natural or anthropogenic reasons. Researchers were unable to perpetuate Chelonoidis Abingdoni , however it appears that Caretta caretta will continue to be part of marine biodiversity.
