Lonesome George tries again – 5 eggs laid

Lonesome George looks on as Edgar Munoz, Director of the Galapagos National Park, measures one of the eggs from the nest of one of George’s female companions.

The world's rarest animal has one more go at reproduction
July 2009. The romantically named Female No. 107, one of the two female tortoises who shares a corral with Lonesome George-the last Pinta Island Tortoise in the world-and who laid a nest for the first time back in 2008, has returned to nest again this year. Hopes are high that the eggs from her nest will produce a descendent for Lonesome George.

When staff at the Conservation Centre opened the nest they found five eggs in perfect condition. These eggs were removed, weighed, measured, and placed in artificial incubators at the Giant Tortoise Centre for Reproduction and Captive Breeding at the Galapagos National Park. Now there is an agonising 120 days wait while the incubation process unfolds before we will know if the eggs are fertile.

Temperature set to produce female tortoises
Because of the need to try to bring back the Pinta tortoise species (Geochelone abingdoni) from the brink of extinction, the five eggs were placed in an incubator kept at a temperature of 29.5 ° C, which will allow for the growth of female tortoises instead of males.

Similar species to George
Female No. 107 and her female companion No. 106 are from the species Geochelone becki, originally from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island. They have a carapace that is shaped similar to the shell of Lonesome George. Since 1993, the three tortoises have shared a corral, with the hope that they might eventually reproduce together.

2008 eggs failed
In July of 2008, both female tortoises laid eggs for the first time. But, hopes were dashed when all of the eggs were declared infertile near the end of the year. This time around in 2009, scientists are hopeful, but not optimistic, that this latest nest will produce a descendant for Lonesome George and his near-extinct species of Pinta Giant Tortoises.

Lonesome George
In 1972, George was found during a hunt for wild goats on Pinta Island and taken to the Galapagos National Park's Giant Tortoise Captive Breeding Centre. Back then, there was hope he would reproduce and that the island could be repopulated with this giant tortoise species. That task, however, turned out to be fruitless, since, as the last of his species (Geochelone abigdoni), he showed no interest whatsoever in reproducing, despite being penned up with females from several different species. Until 2008 when, out of the blue, he mated - Though unfortunately the eggs all failed.