Diego the Tortoise is quite the ladies' man, and his exploits have helped save his species from extinction.Diego, a Galapagos giant tortoise, has fathered an estimated 800 offspring, almost single-handedly rebuilding the species' population on their native island, Espanola , the southernmost in the Galapagos Archipelago. He's contributed enormously to repopulating the island," said Washington Tapia, a tortoise preservation specialist at Galapagos National Park.Diego is a Chelonoidis hoodensis , a species found in the wild only on Espanola. He shares his enclosure with six females, his partners in the task of saving their species.Tough work, but some tortoise has to do it. Diego was found at the San Diego Zoo -- hence his name -- after Chelonoidis hoodensis was identified as a species and an international campaign was launched to find more of the rare tortoises. "I wouldn't say (the species) is in perfect health, because historical records show there probably used to be more than 5,000 tortoises on the island.

Source: Times of India September 15, 2016 01:52 UTC