Possible Pinta Island Tortoises Hatchlings Soon; Act to Save Sea Turtles

Amazingly, a 90-year-old, 198-pound giant tortoise—the last of his own kind—may soon be a father. In his pen at the Galapagos Islands, “Lonesome George” was discovered with some very unexpected company on Monday—five unhatched eggs in perfect condition.

This news is incredibly exciting, as no known Pinta island tortoises have reproduced in decades, and despite much encouragement from his keepers since 1993, George hasn’t expressed an interested in mating—that is, apparently, until now.

Also amazing is that George is considered to be in his “sexual prime.” Though I knew turtles grew to be very old, even older than humans—anyone who’s seen Finding Nemo knows that, right?—I had no idea that 90 was considered to be a good age for reproduction.

Good thing humans aren’t in a similar position—keeping up with a toddler would suddenly switch from being a challenge to being nearly impossible! Could you imagine?

The next 120 days presents the crucial incubation period for the eggs, which means we won’t even know if they’ve been fertilized or not until then. They’ve since been put in an incubator for safekeeping and monitoring.

In fact, this may even turn out to be a false alarm, since George did mate once last year—which sadly resulted in unfertilized eggs. I’m definitely anxious to hear if these eggs do hatch and yield “little Georges.” Though 20,000 giant tortoises live on the Galapagos Islands today, George’s particular species is near extinction, and it would really be amazing to have his kind continue on, even if just for a little while.

In other turtle news today, two threatened and endangered sea turtle species, the loggerhead and the leatherback, may be facing a new danger. A new government rule, raising the number of hooks allowed in the water at a time to 4 million, is predicted to double the bycatch—or accidental catches during legitimate fishing practices, such as these sea turtles and other creatures—at the swordfish fishery in Hawaii. 

We have until August 3 to ask the government to refrain from loosening the current law and allowing so much bycatch to be wasted. Oceana estimates that over a million pounds of wasted catch would result, and in addition to sea turtles, humpback whales, albatross, dolphins, yellowfin tuna and other animals are also at risk. If you’d like to participate, please click here to send your comments.