On this show we try to recognize individuals and ideas that are one-of-a-kind. The subject of tonight's OutFront Honors, while an unusual choice, is definitely that.
Lonesome George, a 100-year-old tortoise living in Ecuador's Galapagos National Park died yesterday. His death was doubly sad because, in addition to it being the end of his life, it is also the end of his species.
That's right, often called "the rarest animal in the world," Lonesome George was believed to be the last of the Pinta Island tortoises. Biologists and conservationists tried over and over to save the species after it was decimated by over-hunting and the introduction of other animals to its natural habitat. Ultimately, they failed.
But it is really the end of the line for the Pinta Island tortoises?