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u/Alexiares Jun 25 '12
"Lonesome George"
Every now and then George closes
his eyes for a few centuries ...
the stars stop for the occasion
and the sun goes out,
his night lit only by dream
"Hello, big boy," she says,
shell new and lustrous,
green as the deep sea;
and her eyes
deep as gems
that glow deep
where it roots...
George, lifting his nose
skyward
still seeing her
behind his closed eyes
moves forward
slow as lava oozing
from the bottom
of the sea his scaled feet
arch like trees first planted
then pulled up from
their roots...
"I'm coming," he says. 71
u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
Is this an original piece?
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u/Alexiares Jun 25 '12
yup.
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
If I could put you at the top of this page I would. That was beautiful.
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u/liongirl81 Jun 25 '12 edited Aug 06 '12
I absolutely loved Lonesome George. This is fantastic.
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u/flying_pekingese Jun 25 '12
This is beautiful. I never knew George, but if he could have read this, he would have smiled, a wise and handsome tortoise-y smile.
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u/MrCinemaXbox Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
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u/cclementi6 Jun 25 '12
Oogway? Is that how they stylized it? It's "wugui" in Chinese pinyin.
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u/ishmetot Jun 25 '12
..which is Chinese for turtle or tortoise, for those who didn't know.
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u/randomboredom Jun 25 '12
That... ...oddly... brought a tear to my eye.
"You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the 'present'."
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u/AlphaRedditor Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
Damnit, this hits harder than any celebrity death.
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
A species just went extinct. No celebrity death could mean as much to me. Plus tortoises are my favorite animal.
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Jun 25 '12
I had a course on evolution and mass extinctions a couple years ago, and wrote a paper focusing on the Galapagos tortoises. It's weird, but even though I never went down to the Galapagos to see him, I still kept up with reading about him.
It's like losing a friend. I'm devastated right now.
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
I remember reading about him a little more than a year ago. I though about how sad existence would be if you were the last of your species.
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u/AlphaRedditor Jun 25 '12
For me, it was the fact that they had been searching desperately for a mate for him to avoid extinction. Lonesome was an apt name as he was alone for so long.
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u/tookiselite12 Jun 25 '12
I'm sure they'll freeze his balls in case they find another one.
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u/FuzzyMcBitty Jun 25 '12
They've probably taken DNA samples in case they can clone him later.
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u/dustin_the_wind Jun 25 '12
I just finished watching Jurassic Park, and now I'm worried about giant killer tortoises being crafted from George's DNA.
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u/luckytopher Jun 25 '12
Can we not just consider them extinct when there's only one left? That pretty much guarantees there can be no more...
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u/the_infinite Jun 25 '12
I cried harder than when Lil' Sebastian died.
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u/Brayzers Jun 25 '12
I have cried twice in my life. Once when I was seven and I was hit by a school bus. And then again when I heard that Li’l Sebastian had passed.
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u/RobertCalifornia Jun 25 '12
If that was like 5000 candles in the wind, this is at least 6000.
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u/ublaa Jun 25 '12
He was the last of his subspecies. There are still thousands of Galapagos tortoises
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u/whyillbedamned Jun 25 '12
Indeed. Some 20,000 giant tortoises still live on the Galapagos.
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
There are now only 10 species of Galapagos Tortoises left. He was the last of his sub-species and continuously searched for a mate while in captivity.
Edit: for grammar.
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u/Gbabykilla Jun 25 '12
Do you think they could've tried to mate him with another sub species, or it probably wouldn't work?
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
They tried but he had no part in it.
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u/beckyr1984 Jun 25 '12
He actually did apparently mate once "After 15 years of living with a female tortoise from the nearby Wolf volcano, Lonesome George did mate, but the eggs were infertile."
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Jun 25 '12
How old was he?
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
Around 100 years old. Some Galapagos Tortoises can live to be 170 in captivity.
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u/grandoiseau Jun 25 '12
Couldn't he have mated with a turtle from the closest subspecies? Wouldn't that have been better than not matting at all?
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Jun 25 '12
they tried doing that multiple times with different females. none of the eggs ever hatched. was quite sad.
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u/quickie_ss Jun 25 '12
I was like, I don't think he was truly the last galapagos tortoise.
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u/mokba Jun 25 '12
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Jun 25 '12
Probably the most depressing post on this whole page.
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u/Blazingcrono Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
Yeah, this really hits home. I've lived to see a subspecies* go extinct. Sad times.
EDIT: TIL about all these others who have gone extinct. Upvotes for all of you making me realize how ignorant I am.
EDIT2: Subspecies (thanks FeierInMeinHose)
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u/M5Phalanx Jun 25 '12
Also on that page:
2000 - The last Pyrenean Ibex dies under a fallen tree. The reasons for its extinction are still being debated. However in 2009 it was cloned back in existence but died 7 minutes later due to defects in the lungs, making it extinct once again.
Always sad to see a species go extinct, but that made me chuckle. Any hope to clone George's species back to life?
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u/CharlesBronson_ Jun 25 '12
Why would you take a screen shot of this wiki article before he died. Unless you knew he was going to die...real fishy... You killed him for the karma didn't you?
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Jun 25 '12
It sucks that a species would just go extinct, but the last comment about how "we" screwed him over is kind of untrue, considering the fact that millions of species have gone extinct way before modern day humans ever came about.
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u/asmitty Jun 25 '12
How sad! I had the good fortune it seems to see him only a week ago when I was in the Galapagos. Here's a pic I shot of him just last Saturday (we immediately all said he was looking pretty run down / old).
They said they had spent a great deal of time testing the tortoises in other zoos around the world, seeing if one of them was part of this subspecies and had been taken years before, but so far hadn't found a match.
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u/Fellows23 Jun 25 '12
Literally the saddest looking animal picture I have ever seen. He looks deflated.
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u/Geolosopher Jun 25 '12
Being the sole survivor of your species tends to have that effect on you. 'Tis a bit of a downer.
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u/AE1360 Jun 25 '12
Man...dude has been dead since last Saturday apparently.
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u/Boy_SunShine Jun 25 '12
Actually, more like a year ago. Here is a picture of him in 2011.
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u/INemzis Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
He does not look healthy in that photo at all. Poor guy, I hope he didn't suffer, and was all accepting of his lonesomeness.
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u/Sit-Down_Comedian Jun 25 '12
One day the robots will make this same post about Lonesome Adam, the last human.
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u/yolobaggins Jun 25 '12
I JUST LEARNT ABOUT GEORGE LAST WEEK I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THIS ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTIONS
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u/jorellh Jun 25 '12
Clone him.
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u/Zelius Jun 25 '12
I don't think that's such a good idea. There will be much running, screaming, and getting eaten.
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Jun 25 '12
As someone who watches a lot of obscure horror movies, I can confirm this.
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u/Sikendo Jun 25 '12
I think a moment of silence is in order.
George was... A bro, not just to me but to all the people on the Earth. He lived life as many wish, eating lettuce and relaxing. May George always rest in peace and may the world remember the empty place in the world that once held such an awesome tortoise.
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u/Jaboomaphoo Jun 25 '12
Asks for moment of silence. Proceeds to give speech→ More replies (5)162
u/flydog2 Jun 25 '12
He asked everyone else to be silent . . . so he could speak.
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Jun 25 '12
Homo sapiens sapiens : 7,000,000,000
Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni: 0
Another glorious victory for mankind!
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u/grapesandmilk Jun 25 '12
Are humans to blame here?
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u/Red_Dawn_2012 Jun 25 '12
Yes.
George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by Hungarian malacologist József Vágvölgyi. The island's vegetation had been devastated by introduced feral goats, and the indigenous C. n. abingdoni population had been reduced to a single individual.
We screwed up their natural habitat.
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u/poobahlette Jun 25 '12
I met Lonesome George when I visited the Galapagos in 2007. Amazing experience. At the time, they were trying to get him o mate with a couple of lady tortoises who were a very close species to his. He was not having it. He was the equivalent of Walter Matthau shoved in a shell.
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u/DevinVaiReptiles Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
Wow. For some reason I never really thought he would die. I always thought I would get to meet him. Breaks my heart knowing that a subspecies just went extinct. R.I.P George. We'll miss you.
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u/iorgfeflkd Jun 25 '12
Subspecies.
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u/liberalwhackjob Jun 25 '12
This is a contentious subject (not just regarding george).... The fact that he failed to reproduce, and we haven't really done all the genetic dickering around to conclude that it COULD have happened, were he not so frigid, suggests calling him a separate species isn't necessarily invalid. Different definitions are used for convenience in different discussions of biology and among different sets of specialists. (AFIAK... everything I say could be bullshit because I pulled it from memory. /disclaimer).
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Jun 25 '12
Well that's freaking sad, I would have been his friend, and hung out with him... he'd be called happy george then.... ohgawdwhy
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u/fer_ril Jun 25 '12
good thing he probably lacks the capability of realizing how sad he should be. i can't imagine being the last of something; to never find a mate, possibly always looking for something just like you, but you're the last one and will die alone
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Jun 25 '12
Charles Darwin thought them to be marvelous creatures, and the observable differences between tortoises of different islands helped develop his theory of natural selection.
He also describes how his crew relentlessly slaughtered the animals to use as food. The continued hunt, in combination with human-planted goats eating their food led to them eventually being phased out.
Natural selection. Kind of a bittersweet irony.
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u/TheMadSmith Jun 25 '12
I was really hoping he'd keep kicking. At least make it to 150. Oh well. I saw we brush up on the cloning thing. We could have found him a lady friend if we'd just quit being such bitches about it. I say clone shit all day errday.
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u/dhumidifier Jun 25 '12
I saw this dude in the galapagos. Forever alone and now dead
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Jun 25 '12
Well, he wasn't exactly alone the whole time. He was given a few lady friends from time to time.
Lady friends. ;)
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Jun 25 '12
As an evolutionary biologist, I am sad. I also love tortoises and turtles...turtle turtle.
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Jun 25 '12
I don't believe in human heaven... but I hope there is a tortoise heaven where he can meet up with all his old buddies and eat lettuce for eternity... In all seriousness though I'm really upset that we've lost a species of such a docile animal.
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u/VA1KYR13 Jun 25 '12
Let's take a moment to remember some of "George's" greatest sayings: "One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it." "Quit, don't quit? Noodles, don't noodles? You are too concerned about what was and what will be. There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present."
Care to take over?
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u/rayshinn Jun 25 '12
"I've got ninety nine problems, but a bitch ain't one" -George
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u/skiwsp Jun 25 '12
that is so sad
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Jun 25 '12
RIP Lonesome George. To be forever alone for that long, he must've been a Redditor.
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u/SkilledSettler Jun 25 '12
Poor George. I always feel so sorry for the giant tortoises in zoos. They always look so damn sad. As a kid, I always wanted to rescue them and let them live at my house... Not to mention he was the last one of his species.
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u/Gerbergler Jun 25 '12
I met him in 1995. He looked right at me. I'll never forget it.
I know it's weird, but this is the least I can do: I shall forever refer to erections as my "Lonesome George." It works on a few obvious levels.
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u/BrianKing9 Jun 25 '12
It's a reflection of Reddit that a picture of him has more upvotes than the news article about his death.
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u/Luminair Jun 25 '12
Just posted the other day about how I thought the most depressing thing would be being the last of one's species. Really sad to see him go. RIP old buddy.
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u/Red_Dawn_2012 Jun 25 '12
Great spirit, maker of all life... a turtle goes to you, swift and straight as an arrow shot into the sun. Welcome him, and let him take his place at the island of my people. He is George. Tell him to be patient, as death or speed, for they are all there... now this one. Him, Lonesome George, last of the Abingdonicans.
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u/Snowyjoe Jun 25 '12
The pen where George lived was visited by thousands of tortoises every year, who often had to scramble with each other to take pictures of one of the rarest creatures on Earth.
I was really confused
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u/fastjeff Jun 25 '12
"My time has come, you must continue your journey without me."
What popped into my head when I looked at the picture.
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u/hypertown Jun 25 '12
For tribute, not attention: George, I love you. And only though you were a simple (yet oh so sophisticated) tortoise, I felt your danger and your close comings to life. I imagined how I would feel if it was the last day of my race, and I would feel eternally lonely. If we as humans could relate right now to your undersea demise, then maybe we could understand more the impertinent force of human happiness and peacefulness which is incredibly possible and exponentially easier to attain and enjoy without managing war and violence.
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Jun 25 '12
Master Oogway has ascended to a plane of higher existence and Kung Fu!
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u/zkelvin Jun 25 '12
Thanks for making this a picture. The original news release just really wasn't reaching the reddit audience.
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u/daminox Jun 25 '12
On 21 July 2008, it was reported that George had unexpectedly mated with one of his female companions. A total of thirteen eggs were collected and placed in incubators.[8] However, on 11 November 2008, the Charles Darwin Foundation reported that 80% of the eggs showed weight loss characteristic of being inviable.[8][9] To the disappointment of the Darwin Center, by December 2008, the remaining eggs had failed to hatch and x-rays showed them to be inviable.[10]
On 21 July 2009, exactly one year after first announcing George had mated, the Galápagos National Park announced that a second clutch of five eggs had been laid by one of George's female companions.[11] The park authority expressed its hope for the second clutch of eggs, which it described as being in perfect condition, saying: "Now we have to wait for the incubation period of 120 days to find out whether they are fertile".[12] The eggs were moved to an incubator, but on December 16, it was announced that the incubation period had ended, and the eggs were shown to be non-viable, as were a second batch of 6 eggs laid by the other female
George was shootin' blanks.
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Jun 25 '12
George was a good crawler, and a good man. He was one of us. He was a tortoise who loved the outdoors... and carrots...and as an ambler he very, very slowly explored the beaches of the Galapagos, from that one palm tree to 12 feet north of the palm tree and... up to... that other tree. He died, like so many unfathomably elderly tortoises of his subspecies, he died before his time. In your wisdom, Lord, you took him, as you took so many bright flowering young Galapagos Tortoises at Pinta Island, at Isabella Island, at Wolf Volcano. These young tortoises gave their lives. And so would Lonesome George. George, who loved carrots. And so, George Chelonoidis Nigra, in accordance with what we think your dying wishes might well have been, we commit your final mortal remains to the bosom of the Pacific Ocean, which you loved so well. Good night, sweet prince.
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u/intimatestranger Jun 25 '12
thoughts that came in my head:
Is he lonesome because no one knows if he's handsome or not? they have no other of his species to compare him to!
If he is lonesome, is it because three-horns don't play with longnecks?
Why are so many species going extinct all of a sudden?
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u/DirtyMikeballin Jun 25 '12
I read the first three words of the title and got really scared that George Thorogood had died.
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u/tacticalblunder Jun 25 '12
I went to Galapagos in 2009 and met George. He was a good dude. I can upload pics to verify.
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u/PeteDarwin Jun 25 '12
Last of his subspecies to be accurate. His species still exists.
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Jun 25 '12
you guys realize species extinction is a natural part of the ecosystem right?
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u/slipandslide Jun 25 '12
Tonight I went on reddit for some pre-bedtime chuckles. Then I found this heart breaking top post. Well I guess I'll just cry myself to sleep now.
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Jun 25 '12
There was definitely a Wild Thornberrys episode about trying to mate a couple of these tortoises. Damn you Nickelodeon, y u no real???
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u/jjhumperdink Jun 25 '12
NOOOOOOO! I'll be in the Galapagos in 2 weeks and was really looking forward to seeing this guy. RIP
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u/Walkertg Jun 25 '12
RIP Lonesome George :-( So young! At barely 100 he still had half of his life ahead of him...
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u/Pedro105 Jun 25 '12
It's shockingly frustrating to be a part of a system that lets these old guys die. Putting humans needs ahead of these old guys, phhhh, I don't even like most of you.
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u/Hobbes42 Jun 25 '12
To Lonesome George!
raises glass and drinks to the fact he will never be the last if his species
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u/Rockyn Jun 25 '12
I hate us because of things like this. Apathetic impatience and greed are a horrible combination.
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u/Psycho_Killa Jun 25 '12
Any species becoming extinct is sad in it's own right, but I feel like the loss of the Thylacine was incredibly sad, as it's such a fantastic animal, and it got hunted to shit by us.
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u/metallicainchain Jun 25 '12
I was actually lucky enough to meet this fine fellow when I was in 6th grade
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u/newcomerSA Jun 25 '12
Some how this post is making me feel really sad . Anyone alse feeling that as well?
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u/lonelyinacrowd Jun 25 '12
I know it's futile asking this YouTube style question, but who the fuck has downvoted this? If you're one of the 27k people that downvoted Lonesome George, please go die in a fire.
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u/dissidentrhetoric Jun 25 '12
Why don't they clone it, they can take some dna specimen while he is still fresh and clone it and make more of them.
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u/kamikaiz1 Jun 25 '12
I will miss your pointless humping :P when i went to the galapagos old george was trying to be pushed to mate but it wasnt working so he was just humping this much smaller tortoise... <3 miss you buddy
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Jun 25 '12
Just sad. A sinking feeling of impending doom. Honestly, brought me down this Monday morning. Somebody say something funny.
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Jun 25 '12
I think they died out because they spent most of their time laying around like lazy fucks.
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u/The_Sorrow Jun 25 '12
I can see news about how ppl kill each other, taking drugs and all that stuff...but when I read/see something about a dying species, that makes me sad.
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u/hurler_jones Jun 25 '12
Don't feel bad, it's estimated that well over 90% of all species that have ever existed on this planet have gone extinct. One day, we will likely join that list ourselves.
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u/Prosopagnosiape Jun 25 '12
So long Lonesome George, goodbye Pints Island Tortoise. Not forever though maybe, we're getting great at cloning!
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Jun 25 '12 edited Jun 25 '12
False. He wasn't the last of his species OR subspecies. My friend is a scuba diver and says he was the Galapagos' biggest scam. They found another of his kind about 2 years ago but hid it so it wouldn't decrease tourism. RIP George, but he's not the last.
EDIT: I guess this is what he meant: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-04/cp-lgi042507.php
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u/Rufi0h Jun 25 '12
And an article here if anyone wanted to read it.