Lonesome George Dies

Lonesome George Dies, Lonesome George, the last survivor of the subspecies Chelonoidis abingdoni of the giant tortoises (“galapagos” in Spanish) that gave Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands their name, died of old age after living more than a century, according to autopsy results released Tuesday.

“The conclusion is that the tortoise died of natural causes, probably brought on by old age,” the management of Galapagos National Park said.

Two biologists and a veterinarian spent two hours examining the body of the tortoise, which was found dead Sunday, and took samples of his organs and tissue for laboratory*n*lysis.

The only anomaly they found was that its liver showed “abnormal coloring, presumably a factor of age,” the park said.

Lonesome George’s body will be embalmed and will occupy a place of honor in a museum or study center for tortoises that will bear its name.

Fausto Llerena, a park ranger who looked after George for 40 years, told Efe that the museum will be built at a place known as La Casona on Santa Cruz Island.

Llerena has been caring for Lonesome George since 1971, when he took part in the expedition to Pinta Island where the solitary chelonian was found at a time when tortoises on that island were thought to be extinct.

Since then, George had been part of the park’s program for breeding the species in captivity.

Different methods were used to stimulate reproduction, at first with females of the subspecies from Wolf Volcano on Isabela Island, with which George finally mated after being in their company for 15 years, but the eggs were infertile. (Fox News)

Mark Lenzi Diving: Dies Suddenly Aged 43

Mark Lenzi Diving: Dies Suddenly Aged 43, The last American diver to win gold at the Olympics has died suddenly at the age of 43. Mark Lenzi won gold when he switched from wrestling to diving in the mid-1980s.

Over the next decade, he became the 1992 Olympic three-meter springboard champion, earned a bronze medal four years later in Atlanta and became the first diver to score 100 points on a single dive.

Lenzi, the last American male diver to win Olympic gold, passed away in Greenville, North Carolina on Monday.

Lenzi is survived by his wife Dorothy, his mother, two brothers, one sister and grandmother Mary Cochran.

His alma mater, Indiana University, posted the announcement on its website but did not provide a cause of death.

His mother Ellie told the family’s hometown newspaper, The Free Lance-Star of Fredricksburg in Virginia that her son had been hospitalized the past two weeks because of fainting spells that were caused by low blood pressure.

Former Olympic teammate and current Texas diving coach Matt Scoggin told USA Diving: ‘Mark came from a wrestling background and the goal of any wrestler is to pin you.

‘When Mark got into a contest, he was going to pin you. I remember before his first World Cup, he was going to win 1-meter, I thought there was no way – it was my third World Cup and I was still trying to get on the podium. He won. He was a very confident competitor.’

Lenzi wrestled in high school when he was captivated by diver Greg Louganis’ remarkable Olympics performance in 1984 and immediately changed discipline.

In 1989, he swept the Big Ten college titles in the one-meter, three-meter and platform competitions, then went on to win the first of his back-to-back one-meter national championships in 1989.

Karl Roy Dies

Karl Roy Dies, Pinoy rock icon Karl Roy, 43, died due to cardiac arrest Tuesday morning. His death was announced by his sister Kathryn Roy on her Facebook page.“It is with deepest sadness that I share the news of Karl’s passing. He was called Home today at 1:01 a.m. Manila time (Tuesday, March 13th), surrounded by those who loved him most—mommy, Keith, Kevin, Krys, his daughter Arianna, and our cousin Jack (Roy-Duavit),” Kathryn wrote.

“Please continue to pray for Karl. He brought so much joy to others but, unfortunately, did not have enough of it in this life. He’s in a better place now, with Lolo Pepe, Lola Conching and Daddy,” she added.

Atty. Jose Roy III, a member of Chief Justice Renato Corona’s defense panel, conveyed his family’s appreciation to all who sympathized with them, reported GMA News’ Tina Perez Tuesday. Atty. Roy is Karl’s cousin.