George may no longer be Lonesome

LONESOME George, the famous Galapagos tortoise, is described in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s rarest living creature.

The last member of his race, he seemed condemned to a solitary life, but now there’s a glimmer of hope that he won’t be lonesome for ever. A female with whom he consorted has laid five eggs, and, at long last, he looks like becoming a daddy. This is a mixed marriage. George’s partner is not one of his own persuasion; she belongs to another tribe.

The Galapagos archipelago, 1,000km west of Ecuador, in the Pacific Ocean, is one of the most isolated places on Earth. There are 14 large islands, and countless smaller ones, in an area of sea about half the size of Ireland.