Yes. All of the news hype about lonesome George being the last was (partial) bogus. It's been known for a while that his particular species hybridized.
The news made it seem like the Galapagos tortoise species became completely extinct, but hybridization is not going extinct. It's a natural process of (hello) evolution. The media and environmental programs are too eager to say every species fall is complete eradication (this coming from an environmental science major) - natural hybridization is known in many species. It can be especially noted in amphibians and reptiles.
I was not impressed when everyone started posting on Facebook, some of whom I was positive did not even know what a Galapagos tortoise was, odes to poor Lonesome George.
Not to say that the process was not speed up by humans, but everything must be taken with a grain of salt.
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Originally Posted by Mike41793
