Lonesome George

The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon

Henry Nicholls

256 pages, parution le 10/04/2006

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Résumé

Lonesome George is a 5ft long, 200lb tortoise aged between 60 and 200. In 1971 he was discovered on the remote Galapagos island of Pinta, from which tortoises had supposedly been exterminated by buccaneering whalers and seal hunters. He has been at the Charles Darwin Research Station on Santa Cruz island ever since, on the off-chance that scientific ingenuity will conjure up a way of reproducing him and resurrecting his species. Meanwhile a million tourists and dozens of baffled scientists have looked on as the celebrity reptile shows not a jot of interest in the female company provided.

Today, Lonesome George has come to embody the mystery, complexity and fragility of the unique Galapagos archipelago. His story echoes the challenges of conservation worldwide. It is a swashbuckling tale of combat and collecting on the high seas, Darwin, sexual dysfunction, hostages, moonlit escapes, culture clashes, cloning, DNA fingerprinting and eco-tourism.

Henry Nicholls details the efforts of conservationists to preserve the Galapagos' unique biodiversity and illustrates how their experiences and discoveries are echoed worldwide. He explores the controversies raging over which mates are most appropriate for George and the risks of releasing crossbreed offspring into the wild. His story draws together the islands' geology, evolution and history of human exploitation. It features strong characters, from Charles Darwin to cloning pioneer Ian Wilmut to the beautiful Swiss graduate who spent four months trying to persuade George to have sex. Some 80,000 tourists visit the Galápagos Islands each year; all drop in on George.

L'auteur - Henry Nicholls

Henry Nicholls writes for many of the world's leading science periodicals including Nature and Science. Following his PhD in Evolutionary Ecology with Tim Birkhead (Promiscuity and The Red Canary), he edited The Encyclopedia of Life Sciences and wrote for BioMedNet News before becoming Editor of the leading history of science journal, Endeavour. He lives in south London with his wife and new son.

Sommaire

Prologue: A conservation icon
Discovery
Lonesome George's girlfriend
The origin of a species
Random drift
Man trap
Lock up your tortoise
The mysteries of Pinta
The diaspora
Wild at heart
Faking organisms
Clones and chimeras
Epilogue: What now?

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Macmillan
Auteur(s)	Henry Nicholls
Parution	10/04/2006
Nb. de pages	256
Format	14 x 21
Couverture	Relié
Poids	350g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9781403945761
ISBN13	978-1-4039-4576-1