Lonesome George, the last surviving Pinta Island giant tortoise, died at his home in the Galapagos Islands. Scientists believe he was more than 100 years old.
George became a symbol of the Galapagos Islands after he was found on Pinta Island by biologist Joseph Vagvolgyi in 1971.
His plight as the only known member of his subspecies led to a series of ill-fated attempts to provide him with a mate.
But despite the best efforts of conservationists — and the presence of two female giant tortoises from a close subspecies sharing his enclosure at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz — George remained a solitary creature.
