testmeat photoblog

only a couple of days ago a tortoise known as lonesome george that i met in the galapagos died. he was thought to be around 100 years old, which for most is a good innings but not that's not especially true in the tortoise world. more than that his death was particularly poignant - for george was the last of his kind. he hailed from isla pinta but when humans first started to visit the islands his population dwindled. tortoises were slaughtered for a quick and easy meal by hunters in the 19th century and more died as a result of the introduction of non-native animals such as goats. there were various unsuccessful attempts to get george to breed, but being the last of his subspecies none of eggs were ever viable. his death, an by extension the extinction of his species, was somewhat inevitable but that doesn't make it any less important. it's a sad reminder of the destructive effect humans have on this planet, and will hopefully highlight the importance of conservation in the future. i already had this photo lined up a few weeks ago and while it's a very different type of tortuga it feels appropriate to post today. rip jorge.

here's the original