‘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.”

Police tell public to stop phoning 999 over ghost sightings

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up
Latest Videos FromThe Week


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 news site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.