What sort of creature was Lonesome George who died on Pinta Island in the Galapagos in 2012?
Pinta Island Pinta Island Pinta Island, also known as Abingdon Island, after the Earl of Abingdon, is an island located in the Galápagos Islands group, Ecuador. It has an area of and a maximum altitude of . Pinta was the original home to Lonesome George, perhaps the most famous tortoise in the Galápagos Islands. He was the last known representative of the subspecies "Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii". Pinta Island is also home to swallow-tailed gulls, marine iguanas, Galapagos hawks, Galapagos fur seals and a number of other birds and mammals. The most northern major island in the Galápagos, at one time Isla Pinta
Lonesome George the decades, all attempts at mating Lonesome George had been unsuccessful. This prompted researchers at the Darwin Station to offer a $10,000 reward for a suitable mate. Until January 2011, George was penned with two females of the species "Chelonoidis becki" (from the Wolf Volcano region of Isabela Island), in the hope his genotype would be retained in any resulting progeny. This species was then thought to be genetically closest to George's; however, any potential offspring would have been hybrids, not purebreds of the Pinta subspecies. In July 2008, George mated with one of his female companions. Thirteen eggs were