VANCOUVER - The world's loneliest creature could soon have company, thanks in part to the findings of a University of British Columbia researcher.
Lonesome George has long been a symbol of conservation, believed to be the last Geochelon abingdoni -- or giant Galapagos tortoise -- on the planet.
The reptile, who holds the Guinness Record for "rarest creature alive," may have a long-lost cousin or two from a nearby island close to his home of Galapogos.
"We've detected the genetic signature of his species," said Dr. Michael Russello, of UBC Okanagan. "Essentially what we found is that Lonesome George is not alone."
Lonesome George was discovered on Pinta, a nearly uninhabited island of Galapogas in 1972. He was immediately brought into captivity at the Charles Darwin Research Station on the island of Santa Cruz.
There, he lives alongside two female tortoises in whom he has never expressed any interest. Apparently, Lonesome George is not keen on keeping his family tree alive.
However, researchers may be able to take over this task. Russello said the tortoise they found in neighbouring Isabella Island is a so-called hybrid species, which shares half the same genetic makeup as Lonesome George.
This means at one point, a tortoise from Lonesome George's clan on Pinta mated with a tortoise on the island of Isabella, where between 2,000 and 7,000 of the reptiles live.
But the re-breeding process won't start easily - the tortoise researchers found is male.
No matter, said Russello. There is still hope one day Lonesome George will have a clan of less lonesome Georges.
With tortoises living up to 200 years, there is a good chance a relative of the rarest creature alive is still around on the island of Isabella.
"We can bring it back from the brink of extinction," he said. "It's really the beginning. It gives a reason for hope."
The findings of the report are published online in the journal of Current Biology.
Russello worked alongside Dr. Adalgisa Caccone and Dr. Jeffrey Powell of Yale University, as well as a multinational team of collaborators.
The trio are in the initial stages of planning an expedition to the Galapogos so they can "sample as many tortoises as we can get our hands on," he said.
"The issue that is being brought to the forefront is the issue of biological diversity," Russello said.
