When i was little i always wondered how dinosaurs became extinct, how little we actually know of them and that everything we DO know about them is mostly rough scientific guesswork. When i was little i was fascinated by the dinosaurs of today; tortoises, turtles and the like. An animal that could live hundreds of years and witness the world change around it as humans discovered, colonized, adapted and destroyed environments for their own greed..
Humans paid a high price for this, as the world recently lost another species.. Lonesome George was the last Pinta Island Tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii) iin existence.. On Saturday 23 June 2012 there was one, the last one. The next day they became another addition to our extinct species list. This may not sound so terrible, but think about. Up untill George died there was hope. Hope of some breakthrough or discovery that could have saved George's species. He was called Lonesome George for that exact reason- for being the last of his kind. Although he didnt know it, and as far as we know he has been the only of his kind for the last 40 years. He was THE living fossil.
Out of everything that could go wrong in our lives, being lonely is by far one of the hardest. If people dont realise this, then we as humans will be witness to many more animals who will eventually become Lonesome James the White Rhino, or something. How long before the next animal will become extinct? How will it affect the world? Untill Sunday, somewhere, a child was asking its parents what kind of animal was that big, gentle, ancient thing slowly walking around around with its home on its back. Somewhere a child is now asking why it died, and when will they come back? And the answer will be 'they are all gone now, child'.
We have lost an unbelievably valuable connection to history with the death of Lonesome George, spanning millons of years. Yes, there are many other tortoises - any creature, for that matter- but there was only ONE Lonesome George.
We didnt deserve you, George.
I am sorry.
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
