Giant Tortoise, Last Of His Species, On Display At Natural History Museum

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Lonesome George waited a century for love, but it never came.

Now, the giant tortoise and his story are on display at the American Museum of Natural History.

Eleanor Sterling with the museum showed CBS 2's Matt Kozar the taxidermy of the 100-year-old giant tortoise from the Galapagos Islands, who died from natural causes two years ago. He was the last representative of his species.

Lonesome George was 5 feet long and 165 pounds.

"He lived on an island where he thought all of the giant tortoises were extinct," Sterling said.

Hunting wiped out his species, and after scientists discovered him in the 1970s, they tried to find a mate for him. But Lonesome George didn't take to any partner—hence the nickname.

"It may have been a personality trait. It may have been something else. It may have been that they weren't attractive to him," Sterling said.

But in death, George is lonesome no more. Museum visitors see him as a reminder of our responsibility to the environment.

"Maybe we'll end up like Lonesome George if we don't do something right away," museum visitor Reed Hansen said.

There are other species of giant tortoises in the world, but as Kozar reported, their numbers are dwindling.

"None of those populations are doing very well. Almost all of the populations are in a pretty serious decline," Sterling said.

The tortoise that spent a lifetime waiting for a partner who never came is now a symbol of conservation.

Lonesome George will be on exhibit until January, when he will return to Ecuador.

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