LONESOME GEORGE

I might be out of the topic, but I couldn't write about anything, but:

LONESOME GEORGE

Lonesome George, the only remaining ‘La Pinta’ Island giant tortoise – believed to be the last of his species – passed away last Sunday. Scientifics did not know his exact age, but George was believed to be about 100 years old. However, one thing that everyone –especially Ecuadorians- knew was that George was the last one.

When first settlers came to the Islands many years ago, the super-sized reptiles were common. However, the introduction of goats brought form the mainland diminished the vegetation that formed their daily diet. In addition, the increase of hunting habits of passing sailors -- left tortoises on the edge of extinction.

 

George was an icon of the Galapagos Islands and a symbol of the urgent need to conserve nature. Scientists and researchers had tried everything to get Lonesome George to mate and keep his species alive for years.  When I was there last July, our tour guide, had a side job for a while trying to get Lonesome George interested in mating. The tour guide explained us that two females were brought into his enclosure too, and they manage to make George mate with them, although at the end those eggs never hatched. 

In 2007, the islands were declared in environment endangered due to the increase of tourism and population in the Archipelago. The main concern was the introduction of invasive species by tourist or newcomers, which clearly affected the native fauna species of the island. And while George may have been lonesome for being the last of his kind, he was all the time harassed by:  scientists, journalists, and the general public. 

At the end, George was the one that taught us the important lesson. We-humans- have to be responsible with the environment, since there are changes that cannot be reverted. In my opinion, he lived in danger all the time. Until now I’m reading news people saying that:’ I’m happy that I got to ride on George when he was alive’. I can’t believe how people are not ashamed of what are we doing with our unique world.   

In my personal opinion, this is a clearly example on how humans are just destroying its own piece of land without thinking on the consequences. Last Sunday, the excessive tourism and human activities had affected the Galapagos Islands in a way that can’t be remediated. Humans have to learn how to conserve nature, without getting to these lamentable threshold points. Indeed, learning to be sustainable and meet human needs without compromising other species rights to do the same, is the main idea of how can we make our planet a better place to live in. 

Rest in peace George.