Famed Galapagos tortoise ‘Pepe the Missionary’ dies

therakyatpost:

Famed Galapagos tortoise ‘Pepe the Missionary’ dies

New Post has been published on http://www.therakyatpost.com/world/2014/08/23/famed-galapagos-tortoise-pepe-missionary-dies/

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QUITO, Aug 23, 2014:

“Pepe the Missionary,” a giant tortoise who rose to fame as one of the most photographed animals on Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, has died at age 60, officials said on Friday.

Pepe, who lived in a corral at the Galapagos National Park’s Interpretation Centre, died of natural causes, said the park’s ecosystems director, Victor Carrion.

“Several of his organs had been slowly failing,” Carrion told AFP, saying the tortoise was also overweight.

Park director Arturo Izurieta paid tribute to the tortoise on Twitter.

“After 60 years of life, Pepe the Missionary will remain in our memories forever,” Izurieta said.

He brightened the post with a bit of good news for conservationists: “The disappearance of Pepe the tortoise does not put his species in danger.”

Pepe was a member of the Chelonoidis becki species native to Wolf Volcano on the island of Isabela.

About 2,000 tortoises from the same species still live in their native habitat.

Pepe was adopted from the wild by a family from San Cristobal island in the 1940s.

Local fishermen named him “Pepe,” which was then expanded to “Pepe the Missionary” when he was given to Franciscan missionaries on the island in 1967.

He became the missionaries’ mascot and a beloved community pet, often photographed and fed by visitors to the mission.

The missionaries handed him over to the national park in 2012 — the same year the reserve lost another famous tortoise, Lonesome George, the last known member of the subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdoni.

The Galapagos Islands are famous for their unique flora and fauna studied by Charles Darwin as he developed his theory of evolution.

Oh Pepe, we lost you too soon (and we’ve lost too many of your kind). RIP you incredible shell you. 

lily-is-a-turtle:

Rest In Peace Oscette (Oscar) 

Mommy misses you already. 

There are no words to express how sad we are to read of Oscette’s passing. I know where ever she is there are never ending noms and sunshine. She was lucky to have awesome siblings and a human that loved her so very much. 

we are sending all the hugs to her human, lily-is-a-turtle. 

lily-is-a-turtle:

Rest In Peace Oscette (Oscar) 

Mommy misses you already. 

There are no words to express how sad we are to read of Oscette’s passing. I know where ever she is there are never ending noms and sunshine. She was lucky to have awesome siblings and a human that loved her so very much. 

we are sending all the hugs to her human, lily-is-a-turtle. 

lily-is-a-turtle:

Rest In Peace Oscette (Oscar) 

Mommy misses you already. 

There are no words to express how sad we are to read of Oscette’s passing. I know where ever she is there are never ending noms and sunshine. She was lucky to have awesome siblings and a human that loved her so very much. 

we are sending all the hugs to her human, lily-is-a-turtle. 

lily-is-a-turtle:

Rest In Peace Oscette (Oscar) 

Mommy misses you already. 

There are no words to express how sad we are to read of Oscette’s passing. I know where ever she is there are never ending noms and sunshine. She was lucky to have awesome siblings and a human that loved her so very much. 

we are sending all the hugs to her human, lily-is-a-turtle. 

lily-is-a-turtle:

Rest In Peace Oscette (Oscar) 

Mommy misses you already. 

There are no words to express how sad we are to read of Oscette’s passing. I know where ever she is there are never ending noms and sunshine. She was lucky to have awesome siblings and a human that loved her so very much. 

we are sending all the hugs to her human, lily-is-a-turtle. 

TortTime

We here at Tort-Time are really feeling the loss of Lonesome George and his species tortoise. He was (and is in spirit) the most famous tortoise in the world. 

We are dedicating today to him, posts and Logo, and hopefully you readers might take some time to remember him and all our shelled friends in need of help! We hope that his loss leads to greater conservation efforts (like the fabulous workshop The Galapagos research facility is holding in July for strategic planning on the maintaining of giant tortoise populations)

What we can do may seem smaller than the problem, but its one step at a time, here are some ideas.

1) Lets bring awareness to the sale of illegally imported turtles and tortoises in big chain pet shops (and the number of animals that die to get there). Theses animals are wild caught, despite the denial of these stores who continue to claim they are from breeders… whose names these stores are never able to come up with. I know the feeling of wanting to save them all when you see them in the store but we can’t propagate this irresponsible behavior that leads to the deaths of 50% or more of these tortoise imported from abroad. 

2) We can use this moment to further educate current and future turtle and tortoise owners about proper care, alternate means of acquisition than the big box pet stores, and the proper care and housing for these grate animals.

3) and extra important! we can spread the word about all to the hard working small scale rescue and rehab facilities that really do change the lives of these creatures and find them the best homes possible.

So in the end lets say this: Lonesome George reminded us of the long history of struggling to survie despite humans’ actions from before our great great grandparents were born and will continue to do so long after we’re gone…if we make it happen.

He was a very large connection to our smaller scale shelled friends who are in their own way part of his lineage (in spirit or blood)  and so many are from further than we understand.

So Im ending my soap box with a request, lets honor Lonesome George and all our turtles and tortoises by giving to our local tortoise/turtle rescues, herp societies, aquatic rehab facility, etc! These are the facilities that work to care for those creatures we acquired without being prepared, those creatures that have outlived us, and those who have fallen victim to humans impact on the natural world in which these guys live. 

I can’t come up with a list for every location, but here is a link with a listing by state (not by any means totally inclusive).

I’m personally indebted to the Turtle Rescue of Long Island for all they’ve done to teach me about the care of tortoises and turtles. 

This is the south carolina sea turtle rescue

So take a minute, a dollar, and find a local rescue near you! or if you can’t give a dollar or two, do some reading and pass the info along. Both those things make a huge difference.  

Lets keep that face above alive and well in our efforts to save another turtle, another tortoise, and stop the extinction of another incarnation of these great animals. 

TortTime

*sniff*

this hurt my heart. 

drinkupslowlynow:

In memory of Petals.
She was my best friend and tied for my favorite tortoise. We went shopping together, and I took her on walks, and while I painted her nails she would sing to me. Her sister tortoise was Mocha, a year older and much stronger, but she was always there for Petals.
Petals was such a strong girl, through all the shots and X-Rays, but she was never 100% well. Even when we tried to separate the sisters with a wooden wall in their tank, Mocha dug under the wall and sat next to her sister until she got well.

When I came back from camp that summer my parents told me she was gone, and I cried for a whole day. I had never been so close to something that had just disappeared from my life.
I made her a beautiful shoebox with sparkly pink ribbon – her favorite – and put her lifeless shell inside. 
Petals was so frail, her happy green eyes were permanently shut, her shiny scales were dull and thin, and her head drooped down. That was the worst. Her head was the first thing that popped out and greeted me every morning of my childhood.
I sat with her at her burial spot in my backyard and planted flowers. Her sister Mocha helped.
With Petals gone, Mocha was sad for a while, but Petals’ spirit was still inside of her. She smiled everyday, and ate out of both bowls of food so that Petals’ leaves wouldn’t go to waste.
To this day Mocha has grown into a big, strong girl, wand with Petals watching over, I know she’ll find a great home with a lovely family when I go away to college next year.