More than 4.5 years after his death, the most famous Galapagos Tortoise in the world has returned home.
When Lonesome George died in June 2012, the plan was to have his body preserved, as he was the last of his kind. The work took place at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
After some very careful taxidermy work, Lonesome George was put on display in NYC for a few months for people to learn about his story and that of the Galapagos Islands. The decision was always to return him to Ecuador, and after some posturing between Quito representatives and those in the Galapagos, it was finally decided that Lonesome George should be returned to the area on Santa Cruz Island that he called home for decades.
Lonesome George arrived on February 17th and can now be seen in the Symbol of Hope Exhibition Hall at the Fausto Llerena Captive Breeding Center (by the Charles Darwin Research Station) in Puerto Ayora. There is a short self-guided trail called the Tortuga Route that visitors can take to learn more about the importance of Lonesome George.
