大象传媒

Why is Lonesome George so lonely? Animation telling the story of Lonesome George, the last Pinta Island tortoise in existence.

Grandad Charlie takes his grandson Sam to visit Lonesome George, who explains why he is lonely. Once there were many tortoises on the island, but then sailing ships arrived. The sailors and settlers needed food. Some of them caught and ate the tortoises. The ships also brought goats which fed on the island's vegetation, so there was not enough food left for the tortoises to eat. The ships brought dogs, which also ate the tortoises, and the ship's rats fed on tortoise eggs. Before long almost every tortoise had gone and the island was changed forever. Fewer and fewer tortoises laid eggs, until only George was left. George tells Sam that when he dies, tortoises like him will become extinct.

NOTE: Lonesome George died in 2012. This clip was factually accurate when originally broadcast.