Head of Galapagos Conservancy to Share Loss and Legacy of “Lonesome George” the Giant Tortoise

CHESTERTOWN, MD—When the last surviving Pinta Island giant tortoise, a beloved centenarian named Lonesome George, died this past June, he left conservations in the Galapagos Islands and around the world more determined than ever to protect other endangered species.

In a lecture at Washington College titled “George: His Legacy,” the founder and president of the Galapagos Conservancy will bring her personal perspective to the story of George and the need to protect species diversity. Hosted by the College’s McLain Program in Environmental Studies, Johanna E. Barry will speak Wednesday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, Toll Science Center, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

In a blog on the Conservancy’s Web site, Barry recalled the moment on June 25 when her organization’s science advisor, Linda Cayot, told her that Lonesome George had been found dead that morning in his corral.  “Linda couldn’t finish her sentence before she started to cry,” she wrote. “George was like a cranky, eccentric uncle that you knew you would see at every family reunion. Except this year. Lonesome George was gone and it was impossible to believe. And with George – his species.”

The tortoise’s plight as the last of his kind had sparked a great deal of research in species recovery, Barry noted, so the message of his story will ultimately be one of “hope and of resolve.  We cannot and will not lose another species in Galapagos.”

Johanna Barry has worked in institutional advancement and organizational development for more than 30 years. She has held senior fundraising positions the World Conservation Union (U.S.), The Wilderness Society, and Resources for the Future and served as consultant to the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, and the Audubon Naturalist Society. 

Do Fish Feel Pain? Afraid So, Says Researcher Coming to Lecture Nov. 16 at the College

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Do fish feel pain? And does it matter? These are the questions Victoria Braithwaite, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University, will address in a lecture at Washington College on Wednesday, November 16. Part of the McLain Lecture Series, the talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, Toll Science Center, 300 Washington Avenue. A book signing will follow in the McLain Atrium.

Braithwaite, Associate Director and Professor of Fisheries and Biology at the Penn State Institute of the Neurosciences, researches the evolution of animal cognition with a focus on fish learning, perception, and memory. In her 2010 book Do Fish Feel Pain? ( Oxford University Press), she discusses the ethical questions raised by current fishing practices. According to Braithwaite, fish are not the simple-brained creatures most of us perceive them to be, but are instead complex animals with accurate memories, stress responses, and physiological similarities with other vertebrates—even humans.

In light of recent scientific evidence showing that fish have specialized pain receptors, she argues that the kinds of protective measures in place for other animals should be extended to fish.

Braithwaite’s lecture is sponsored by the McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the campus chapter of Sigma Xi, a scientific-research honor society. The Joseph H. McLain ’37 Program in Environmental Studies was established in 1990 to recognize and augment study in the fields of aquatic and environmental studies.

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