Lonesome George

We’re tracking a rare creature named George for today’s Geo Quiz. Lonesome George is not your average tortoise.

He’s a giant saddleback tortoise of the Galapagos Islands and he’s getting up in his years. We’re looking for the name of the Ecuadorian island where George comes from.

Lonesome George

His neighbors include swallow-tailed gulls, sea lions, and marine iguanas. In earlier centuries, this northern island of the Galapagos was a favorite meal stop for buccaneers, and whaling captains.

“And they would take live tortoises off the islands to have fresh meat on their ships so from the whaling logs it’s estimated that during less than a century they took somewhere between 100-200,000 tortoises off of Galapagos Islands.”

George somehow managed to escape that fate. We’ll tell you about what’s he’s been up to recently.

After you try to name this northern most island of the Galapagos.

Let’s get back to Lonesome George now… and the answer to Geo Quiz. Lonesome George is a Galapagos giant tortoise who’s believed to be the last of his species.

But wait…there’s word that George may yet become a father. Linda Cayot is going to help us understand this. She’s an expert on Galapagos giant tortoises. Listen to the interview:

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The answer is Pinta Island.