‘Extinct’ tortoise found on Galapagos Island

And other stories from the stranger side of life

A tortoise on the Galapagos Islands
(Image credit: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images for Lumix)

A giant tortoise found on the Galapagos Islands is from a species considered extinct, The Telegraph reports. Scientists say an elderly female tortoise discovered during an expedition has been identified as a chelonoidis phantasticus, also known as Fernandina Island Galápagos tortoise – a species last seen more than a century ago. Ecuador’s environment minister wrote in a tweet: “It was believed extinct more than 100 years ago! Hope is alive.”

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.