The only remaining Pinta Island tortoise and celebrated conservation icon passed away Sunday, the Galapagos National Park Service said in a statement.
Estimated to be more than 100 years old,
the creature's cause of death remains unclear and a necropsy is planned.
Lonesome George died, leaving the world
one species poorer
Lonesome George's longtime caretaker, Fausto Llerena, found
the tortoise's remains stretched out in the "direction of his watering
hole" on Santa Cruz
Island, the statement said.
Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta Island in 1972
at a time when tortoises of his type were already believed to be extinct. Since
then, the animal had been part of the park service's tortoise program.
Repeated efforts to breed Lonesome
George failed.
"Later two females from the
Espanola tortoise population (the species most closely related to Pinta
tortoises genetically) were with George until the end," the park service
said.
In honor of Lonesome George, the park service
said it was convening an international workshop in July on management
strategies for restoring tortoise
populations over the next decade.
The Galapagos Islands, situated about
1,000 kilometers (620 miles) off Ecuador's coast, is considered a haven for
tortoises.
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