He is over 100 years old, and has a sex life that would leave many in envy.
His sexual exploits has become world-famous, since he single-handedly helped save his species from extinction.
Also, he’s a tortoise.
Diego, a Galapagos giant tortoise, has fathered an estimated 800 offsprings, saving his entire species from extinction on its native island of Espanola, the southernmost in the Galapagos Archipelago.
Around 50 years ago there were only two males and 12 females of Diego’s species alive on Espanola. His sexploits have drastically changed that situation.
“He’s a very sexually active male reproducer. He’s contributed enormously to repopulating the island,” Washington Tapia, a tortoise preservation specialist at Galapagos National Park, said.
Weighing about 80 kilograms, Diego is nearly 90 centimetres long and 1.5 metres tall.
Of over 2,000 tortoises now live on the island, and Diego is the father of 40 percent of them.
Experts expect that 5,000 tortoises used to live on the island at one point. Sadly, three species of giant tortoise in the Galapagos have already gone extinct with the latest species lost just four years ago. But thanks to Diego’s libido and the compliance of his female mates, Chelonoidis hoodensis hopefully won’t share a similar fate.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)