From the National Geographic Islander in Galápagos, 7/22/2008, National Geographic Islander

Santa Cruz Island

This day was dedicated to conservation! Our exposure to the Charles Darwin Research Station (CDRS) gave us a great deal of information about the many programs that have been developed to protect different endangered species in the islands. All of the species are important, but among the most emblematic of the Galápagos are without a doubt the giant tortoises.

One of the longest-running programs is dedicated to a famous tortoise, “Lonesome George.” He was found in the early 1970's on the island of Pinta (north of the Galápagos), the lone survivor of his group after many years of tortoise hunting. Soon after his discovery he was taken to the CDRS for immediate action - that is, to try to breed him in captivity.

After many years of trying and hoping, we came to the conclusion that he was unable to reproduce. Fortunately some of us never gave up hope for Lonesome George; far deep in our hearts we wanted to believe that there would be a day when Lonesome George's fatherhood would break the news. That day has finally arrived and today, on the 22nd of July, 2008, Lonesome George has been granted the fatherhood of nine eggs.

Unfortunately not all the eggs were found in good shape: four of them were completely broken and three presented a crack that made them unable for further development. The good news is that three of them were apparently in optimum condition to continue their incubation. The CDRS scientist has transferred the eggs to the incubators where two of them would be maintained in an ideal temperature to produce females and the other one would hopefully hatch as a male.

The breaking news of Lonesome George's fertility will travel the world, and today our Lindblad guests were a part of history, as we were visiting the area when the discovery was made.

We will still have to wait for the eggs to hatch to call this a success story, but we have nothing more than to wish success to what might become one of the most important scientific achievements of the Charles Darwin Station.
Long live King Lonesome George!