Lonesome George

 

Lonesome George was a La Pinta Galapagos Tortoise. I learned about him from this fantastic podcast (Let's Learn Everything - Episode 43: Gravitational Waves, The Loneliest Animal, and Graffiti). George was put forth as a candidate for loneliest animal since he was the last of his subspecies. For decades attempts were made to get him to fertilize the eggs of some closely related tortoises, so at least a hybrid would remain, but the eggs were never viable.  He died at age 102, which is only about middle age for Galapagos Tortoises. In the podcast people point out that George was able to live with other tortoises for his whole life, so he probably never even recognized that he was the last of his kind in a very specific way. George as a figure of loneliness doesn't hold a candle to the whale who cannot sing at the right pitch that other whales do. Read up on the 52Hz whale. I dare you not to feel a pang of sympathy at the idea of being lonely and alone in the ocean.

Why on earth am I bringing up Lonesome George, anyway? Oh, this old thing, this worn concrete that sits along the Taylor's Mistake trail in his honor.  Further research shows no discernible connection with Christchurch, specifically. Though I did find multiple news stories in New Zealand papers about both the attempts for George to "Become A Father At Age 90" and his death, probably of a little tortoisey heart attack.

He was taxidermied after death, so his crazy long neck is still out there, on the Galapagos Island.