Found in 1971 on Pinta Island in the Galapagos, where goats introduced by humans had stripped the vegetation, Lonesome George was the last known individual of the Pinta Island tortoise. For four decades he lived at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz island, where attempts to mate him with females of related species produced no fertile eggs. He was found dead by his keeper Fausto Llerena on 24 June 2012, at about 100 years old, and was declared the rarest creature in the world. Galapagos giant tortoise numbers have since recovered thanks to conservation.
Before and after
- 22 May 2012Construction of Tokyo Skytree
- from 15 June 2012 to 15 February 2016Premiere of Gravity Falls
- 15 June 2012Creation of ChromeOS
- 20 June 2012Introduction of Coinbase
- 24 June 2012Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise, dies
- 26 June 2012Discovery of Styx
- 28 June 2012Doudna and Charpentier publish CRISPR gene editing
- 5 July 2012Construction of The Shard
- from 15 July 2012 to 4 August 2012Battle of Damascus
More in Evolution & life
- 1984The Turkana Boy skeleton is found
- 1985Discovery of KNM WT 17000
- 1989The golden toad is seen for the last time
- 6 January 2000The last Pyrenean ibex dies and is later cloned
- 10 November 2011The western black rhinoceros is declared extinct
- 10 September 2015Homo naledi is announced from the Rising Star cave
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.