Galapagos tortoise Lonesome George - first time father at 80?

Jul 22, 2008, 16:27 GMT

Quito - After 30 years of waiting, the most famous tortoise on the Galapagos Islands, Lonesome George, may finally become a father and promote his robust genes for another generation.

Six healthy-looking eggs were found in the compound where the 80- year-old tortoise lives with females of his species, national media in Ecuador reported Tuesday, citing national park officials.

George, said by scientists at the Charles Darwin Research Station to be one of the last known of his tortoise subspecies, was found in 1972 on the islands, but has not fathered any hatchlings.

To ensure some female offspring, scientists have taken some of the eggs and put them in a brooder set at 29.5 degrees Celsius known to favour females. The others are being kept at 28 degrees, to favour male offspring.

But scientists must wait 120 to 130 days, the normal gestation period, to even find out whether fertilization took place, officials at the Charles Darwin Station on Santa Cruz Island said.

The search for tortoises like George, which can reach 270 kilogrammes, has taken scientists to Pinta. They have searched in vain for ones that have the characteristic long neck like George, but the 90-kilogram creature apparently took a shine to the females of the subspecies Geochelone Beckl, officials said.

The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean about 1,000 kilometres off the coast of Ecuador, to which they belong.

Charles Darwin, the 19th Century father of the theory of evolution, took inspiration for his study from the exotic and singular wildlife found on the isolated island group.