10 Animals Our Children Will Never See
Pinta island tortoise: Extinct in 2012
“Lonesome George,” the last Pinta island tortoise. Image: Mike Weston
Pinta island tortoises were a subspecies of the Galapagos tortoise native to Ecuador’s Pinta Island. These tortoises were slow-moving herbivores that rested up to 16 hours per day and fed on greens, grasses, fruits and cactus pads.
This species was hunted so heavily for their meat that their populations were unable to rebound. The 2012 death of the last known Pinta island tortoise, Lonesome George, marked the end of the species.
