USD students visit oldest living Pinta tortoise days before its death

Anyone who has seen the movie “Finding Nemo” remembers the easy-going tortoise named Crush who proclaimed he was, “One hundred and fifty, dude, and still young!” While Crush certainly wasn’t the main character, he did shed light on an intriguing fact: Tortoises live for a long time.

But living a long time doesn’t necessarily mean they are an invincible species. This was the case for Lonesome George, the last living Pinta tortoise living on Isabela Island, the largest of the 13 islands that make up the Galapagos archipelago.

Holly Straub, associate professor of Psychology, along with 14 University of South Dakota students had the opportunity to visit this rare turtle a month before his death.

“We were more fortunate than you might realize,” Straub said. “Tortoises don’t exactly pose for tourists. Fortunately, for the sake of memories, any picture is a good picture.”

Straub also explained exactly how monumental this extinction really is. Starting as early as the 15th century, many explorers came to the Galapagos Islands in need of food.

Tortoise meat was once considered a delicacy. On voyages over 200,000 tortoises were eaten and then later tossed aside from ships, decreasing the population by 80 to 90 percent, Straub said.

But pirates and explorers were not the species’ only enemy — goats favor the tortoise when they hatch and are very little. In 1959, three fishermen released three goats on the Island to reproduce because their milk was beneficial for food, and in doing so, decreased the Pinta tortoise population to near extinction by 1970, Straub said.

Named after TV comedian George Gobel, Lonesome George was a historical representation of animal conservation, said Straub. It was believed that by 1971 the Pinta tortoise was extinct until Lonesome George was discovered.  Found in 1972, scientists of the Charles Darwin Research Center have kept a watchful eye on him until he passed away June 24, 2012.

Straub believes students need to realize how much they impact the world.

“Your behavior matters,” Straub said.

Straub said students need to realize they live in a constant dynamic system and their actions affect the world around us.

First-year Alexa Moeller said events like this should be important to students.

“Animals have feelings too, whether we believe it or not,” she said. “Students and people in general should be more aware of animals and respect them as beings, which means protecting them when they need protecting. We share a planet with them, after all. There’s no reason we shouldn’t live in harmony.”

Tortoises are believed to live for over 100 years, but scientists hope to preserve as many species as possible, like Crush, who was 150 years old and still kicking.