Lonesome George is the rarest creature in the world. He is the last known individual of the Pinta Island Tortoise, subspecies Geochelone nigra abingdonii, one of 13 subspecies of Galápagos tortoise native to the Galápagos Islands.

George was first seen on the island of Pinta on 1 December 1971 by American snail biologist Joseph Vagvolgyi and subsequently tracked down by goat hunters in March 1972. It's thought he was named after the character played by American actor George Gobel. Relocated to the Charles Darwin Research Station, George was penned with two females of a different subspecies, Geochelone nigra becki from Wolf Island, in the hope that his genotype would be retained in the resulting progeny. Unfortunately, these attempts have not been successful to date.

George is estimated to be 60-90 years of age, and is in good health. A prolonged effort to exterminate goats introduced to George's island is now complete and the vegetation of the island is starting to return to what it once was.

In May 2007, analysis of genomic microsatellites suggested that other individuals of Geochelone nigra abingdoni may still exist. Researchers have identified one tortoise from the neighboring Galápagos island of Isabela which has half his genes in common with George's subspecies. This animal must be a first generation hybrid between the subspecies of the islands Isabela and Pinta. It is possible that a pure Pinta tortoise lives among the 2000 tortoises on Isabela.