It is not very often that we are really bothered about the sexual adventures of others, let alone other creatures beyond us. But all fun aside, human activity has driven many species on the planet to the verge of extinction and Lonesome George is one of those who has found himself on that precarious edge. A Pinta Island tortoise, George is the last of his kind and one could say that the survival of his species rests on his hard shell!

Now at the age of 90, the conservation male turtle is at its sexual peak (at 90, I wish we could say that) and still seems hesitant to mate with females of other sub-species. George’s tendency has earned him his tag of Lonesome George while others have speculated that he could be gay.

Even though recently George (finally) managed to mate with two females, that has resulted in almost negative results. Eighty percent of the eggs laid by the females after mating have been found to be infertile and there is no guarantee that any of them will actually produce an off-spring. However, they are still placed in the incubator and scientists are hoping for a miracle.

Look, guys, ease off of George’s back! I can really relate to his problem. It is tough enough when you need to maintain a standard under no pressure in the sack. This guy has the pressure of sustaining his species as he does his thing under the shell. All that pressure and attention can put off even the best.

Let’s hope George rises to the occasion!

Source: Reuters

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Loggerhead turtles, endangered-type, were found just after birth on a beach in Cyprus. Cyprus took the lead in conservation of the slow fellows in 1978. The results are bearing fruit as a number of nests for both loggerheads and green turtles can now be found.

The turtles are said to have been around for 10,000 years and return every 25-30 years after hatching to lay their own legs and keep the reproduction process going.

But, then there are people like the woman in the photo who will do their part to disrupt the process, no? Why can’t we leave the animals alone? They don’t check on us to make sure we are reproducing at an appropriate rate, do they? Come to think of it, maybe they should.

Categorized from threatened to critically endangered, sea turtles from the world’s oceans have mostly been hunted down for their meat, fat and shells (tortoiseshell). These days, the most significant threat for them is a commercial fishing technique called longline fishing, that uses hundreds or even thousands of baited hooks hanging from a single line and causes accidental sea turtle deaths.

There are seven living species of sea turtles and here’s a little bit on each of them. (more…)