'Lonesome George' may not have been the last Pinta Island tortoise after all

When Lonesome George died last June, he was thought to be the last of his kind, the Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii). Now scientists are saying that, given the will, a little effort, and a hundred or 150 years, they can revive the lost subspecies. From ABC News:

Researchers say they may be able to resurrect the Pinta Island subspecies by launching a cross-breeding program with 17 other tortoises found to contain genetic material similar to that of Lonesome George, who died June 24 at the Pacific Ocean archipelago off Ecuador's coast after repeated failed efforts to reproduce. Edwin Naula, director of the Galapagos National Park, said in a telephone interview on Thursday that the probability is high it can be accomplished. "It would be the first time that a species was recovered after having been declared extinct," Naula said. But it won't happen overnight. "This is going to take about 100 to 150 years," Naula added. Scientists took DNA samples from 1,600 tortoises on Wolf volcano, and found the Pinta variety in 17, though their overall genetic makeup varied. Through cross-breeding, "100 percent pure species" can be achieved, said Naula, a biologist.

Read the whole story, and view video, here. Photo of Lonesome George in 2006 by Mike Weston, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.