The late George tortoise still has relatives

The giant Galapagos turtle thought to be extinct with the death of its last representative, George, but recent DNA studies have opened up new hope for this species.

After the death of George turtles on the Pacific Galapagos Islands this summer, scientists have sadly announced the end of a special turtle genus.

George's turtle died when he was over 100 years old - (Photo: Reuters)

However, recent research shows that the "loner" , nicknamed George's turtle, may not be the last member of the Galapagos giant tortoise.

Yale University (USA) experts have stripped the southern tip of Isabella Island, the largest island of Galapagos, and collected DNA from more than 1,600 giant turtles.

Analysis results show that 17 of them are hybrid turtles, whose father or mother is the same breed as George, which belongs to the sub-branch Chelonoidis abingdoni.

And yet, five of the tortoises are underage, meaning that C.abingdoni purebred turtles are still present somewhere on the island.

The new discovery also surprised the experts because C.abingdoni turtles like George are local animals in Pinta island, 60km from Isabella island.

They are giant creatures, weighing more than 400kg and up to 1.8m long, so scientists ignore the fact that they have been washed up by Isabella Island by sea waves, according to a report on Biological Conservation.