Because of the breeding program Diego was a part of, the world population of the giant Galapagos tortoise has nearly doubled.
Researchers believe that Diego was taken from Galapagos sometime during the 20th century, likely as part of a scientific expedition. At 175 pounds, 35 inches high, and five feet long from neck to tail, Diego has lived through a lot of world events in his lifetime. When he was first born, motion pictures were in their infancy, and the roaring twenties had just begun.
Researchers credit Diego with single-handedly saving his subspecies of tortoise through the breeding program. Now, after he undergoes a quarantine period which will ensure he won't carry any seed pods from the mainland to Española and spread non-native flora to the region, he'll be headed home. "There's a feeling of happiness to have the possibility of returning that tortoise to his natural state," Carrion said.Lonesome George, a Pinta Galapagos Tortoise whose attempts at breeding in captivity came to naught, is believed to have been the last of his kind, his subspecies of tortoise having had its population devastated due to the deforestation of flora, brought on by the introduction of feral goats to the Island of Pinta.
Estimated to be over a hundred years old, George passed away in 2012 from what was determined to be natural causes. His body was later taxidermied and is now on display in New York's American Museum of Natural History.
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