Where have you been this whole time, mate?
A tortoise from a species believed to have been extinct for around 110 years has been found on the Galápagos islands, according to Ecuador’s government.
The female tortoise, who is believed to be more than a century old herself, was seen alive on Sunday during an expedition by the Giant Tortoise Restoration Initiative (GTRI).
Ecuador’s Ministry for the Environment released a photo of the Giant Fernandina Island Tortoise, who has not been named.
BREAKING NEWS! GC’s own @wacho_tapia just returned from Fernandina Island in #Galapagos, where they discovered a female #tortoise. Tortoises on Fernandina have been thought to be extinct for over 100 years, so this is a monumental finding! Photos © GNPD, W. Tapia pic.twitter.com/fhQpIzsHmM
— Galápagos Conservancy (@savegalapagos) February 20, 2019
Tortoises on the Galápagos islands have long been the subject of popular culture — including Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise made famous by David Attenborough for being the last of his species. He died at the age of 102 in 2012.
Thankfully, this recent discovery proves that humans don’t know all there is to know about the Galapagos, and that there could be more Georges out there.
According to CNN, there are 14 species of tortoise that are native to the Galápagos islands — which is administrative territory of Ecuador — most of which are endangered.
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