Imagine you're the last surviving of your kind on the planet. This is what happened to the giant tortoise lonesome George. He's the only surviving of his species. He lives in the Darwin research centre on Santa Cruz where efforts are being made to prevent this species from dying out. These include:
- Having 'Lonesome George' mate with females from a very closely related other species. The problem seems to be that George generally lacks sexual appetite and just doesn't know how to do it. However, his two girlfriends recently laid eggs – this is the result of a 'motivational therapy'.
- Finding another one of his species: Giant tortoises have been removed from Galapágos over the centuries. Due to their longevity , there might be other survivors on the planet. If you keep a giant turtle as a pet, please check: it might be of the same species as George.
- Cloning George.
Although none of the above efforts have so far been successful, the time factor lets us hope that a solution will be found: George is an estimated 110 years old, and as he can live over a 200 years, there are some 80 years left to safe his species from extinction.
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