地球僅存 百歲保育龜種去世
（路透基多24日電）加拉巴戈斯國家公園（GalapagosNational Park）表示，保育動物、地球最後1隻平塔島（La Pinta）巨型陸龜「寂寞喬治」今天去世死因不明，一般認為牠活了100多歲。
「寂寞喬治」（Lonesome George）1972年被人發現後就成為加拉巴戈斯群島的代表性動物，每年可吸引約18萬名訪客。
加拉巴戈斯國家公園主管諾拉（Edwin Naula）告訴路透社：「負責照護的管理員今早發現寂寞喬治一動也不動。」「牠的生命已走到終點。」中央社（翻譯）
(Reuters) Sun Jun 24, 2012 5:03pm EDT
Lonesome George, last-of-his-kind Galapagos tortoise, dies
* Giant tortoise, 100 years old, was a symbol of the Galapagos
* Galapagos park may decide to embalm his body
By Alexandra Valencia and Eduardo Garcia
QUITO, June 24 (Reuters) - Lonesome George, the last remaining tortoise of his kind and a conservation icon, died on Sunday of unknown causes, the Galapagos National Park said. He was thought to be about 100 years old.
Lonesome George was found in 1972 and had become a symbol of Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, which attracted some 180,000 visitors last year.
"This morning the park ranger in charge of looking after the tortoises found Lonesome George, his body was motionless," the head of the Galapagos National Park, Edwin Naula, told Reuters. "His life cycle came to an end."
George was believed to be around 100 years old and the last member of a species of giant tortoise from La Pinta, one of the smallest islands in the Galapagos, the Galapagos National Park said.
The giant Galapagos tortoises, which can live up to 200 years old, were among the species that helped Charles Darwin formulate his theory of evolution in the 19th century.
The Galapagos National Park is considering embalming George's body so that it can be displayed in the park, Naula said.
A spokesperson said the park plans to carry out a necropsy to determine what may have killed the tortoise.
Scientists had been trying to get George to mate since 1993, when they introduced two female tortoises of a different subspecies into his pen. They laid eggs twice, but they were infertile.
The pen where George lived was visited by thousands of tourists every year, who often had to scramble with each other to take pictures of one of the rarest creatures on Earth.
The islands often attract celebrities, including Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt earlier this year.
Tortoises were hunted for their meat by sailors and fishermen to the point of extinction, while their habitat has been eaten away by goats introduced from the mainland.
Some 20,000 giant tortoises still live on the Galapagos. (Editing by Sandra Maler)
ロイター2012年 06月 25日 10:55 JST
ゾウガメ「ロンサム・ジョージ」死ぬ、ガラパゴスの人気者
［キト ２４日 ロイター］ エクアドルのガラパゴス国立公園は２４日、ピンタゾウガメ最後の生き残りとされる雄のゾウガメ「ロンサム・ジョージ」が死んだと発表した。推定年齢は約１００歳。
ジョージは１９７２年に発見され、その後ガラパゴス諸島のシンボルとなっていた。同公園のエドウィン・ナウラさんはロイターに対し、「カメの飼育担当者が今朝、ロンサム・ジョージが動いていないのを発見した。彼の生涯は終わりを告げた」と語った。
１９９３年から近縁種の雌２頭とのペアリングが試みられたが、繁殖は成功しなかった。死因は明らかになっておらず、解剖が行われる予定。また、同公園はジョージの死体に防腐処理を施し、公園内に展示する計画もあるとしている。
『三ヶ国語キーワード』
去世[qu4sｈi4] ＝ die = 死ぬ
『単語』
embalm；腐敗処理を施す
ranger；レンジャー、警備隊
evolution ；進化
necropsy；検死
pen；おり、囲い
extinction；絶滅
habitat；生育地
goat；ヤギ
『ひとこと』
バイバイ、ジョージ！
『ひとこと』
バイバイ、ジョージ！
