Red-footed tortoise, the next relative to "Lonesome George" on the South American continent (Click to view larger image). Of all 15 subspecies, which lived originally on the Galapagos Islands, two populations (on Santa Fé & Floreana) are definitely extinct. However, during the last decades the intention to guarantee the survival and the protection of the still existing populations became more and more important. In the beginning of the 20th century scientists recognized the critical status of the Galapagos tortoises. Therefore the tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. In about 30 years more than 200.000 tortoises were killed. But not all of them survived until today.When in the 19th century the hunters for seals and whales came to Galapagos, they exploited the species for meat and oil. Today, altogether 15 different subspecies are known. After years they evolved into a special subspecies on each island. In that time, some tortoises arrived from mainland South America by overwater dispersal and by a passive journey facilitated by the Humboldt Current. The divergence between both species probably occurred 6–12 million years ago. The closest living relative of the Galapagos tortoise is the Argentine tortoise ( Chelonoidis chilensis), a much smaller species from South America. But through detailed research it was shown that the Galapagos tortoises have a close relationship to the land tortoises of South America. On the first glimpse, the Galapagos tortoises ( Chelonoidis elephantopus) seem to be similar to the Giant tortoises ( Megalochelys gigantea) of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Therefore those islands were named "Insulae de los Galopegos" (Islands of the Tortoises) – Galapagos. The most striking animals on 11 of the islands were giant dark tortoises in a great number. In 1535, an archipelago consisting of 5 larger, 10 medium sized and several small volcanic islands was explored. "Lonesome George" – a famous media star and the last existing Pinta island tortoise –
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