The loneliest things in the universe

Lonesome George

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

His name hints at just how lonely this Pinta Island Tortoise (Chelonoidis abingdoni), from the Galápagos, really was. Lonesome George was the last of his kind.

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Instead of being given a peaceful end of life like most other 60-year-old animals, George was prodded to mate with other subspecies, which yielded no successful offspring. He died in 2012, and his entire species with him.

Toughie the frog

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Toughie was not forced to mate, as frogs mate only with their own species, and the last female of his species had already died. He lived alone for seven years.

The saddest part about Toughie's story, however, is that once he entered captivity he completely stopped his mating calls, and wouldn't respond to recorded calls, as if he knew there was no one out there for him anymore.

52 Blue

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

While most whales communicate at a frequency of 10–39 Hz, 52 Blue calls at a frequency of 52 Hz, meaning that no other whales can hear him or even know that he's there.

Opportunity, the Mars rover

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

In February 2019, NASA announced that they would be trying one last time to contact its record-setting, but silent, Mars rover before declaring it dead after 15 years.

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Victim of one of the most intense dust storms in decades, the rover that first confirmed water on Mars might still be alive, but NASA can't keep trying to call out with no response.

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

“It's just like a loved one who's gone missing, and you keep holding out hope that they will show up and that they're healthy,” the project manager said. “But each passing day that diminishes, and at some point you have to say 'enough' and move on with your life.”

Curiosity the rover

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Alone on a planet many light-years from home, the Curiosity rover has spent nearly seven years on Mars, but how lonely can a robot be?

Sudan the rhino

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Sudan, a northern white rhinoceros, was brought to Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya in 2009, in the company of one other male and two females, all of whom escaped mass poaching.

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Though Tinder raised funds for in-vitro fertilization research, Sudan's declining health caused veterinarians to put him down in 2018.

Tree of Ténéré

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

The Tree of Ténéré in the Sahara was once the only tree for 400 km (250 miles), standing alone for decades. 

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

Its proud but lonely stand against time was abruptly ended in 1973, when a drunk driver managed to crash into the only obstacle for hundreds of miles. A metal sculpture now takes its place in the desert.

The world's loneliest island

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

A lingering possession of the British Empire, the extraordinary island is located in the far South Atlantic, thousands of kilometers from both the coast of Brazil and South Africa.

The "Man of the Hole"

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

An isolated indigenous man in Brazil has been living alone in the Amazon for at least 22 years, dubbing him the world's loneliest man.

He's believed to be the sole surviving member of his tribe as, starting in the '80s, farmers, illegal loggers, and land-grabbers encroached on their territory in Rondônia and massacred them.

Lonesome George, Toughie the frog, Opportunity, the Mars rover, Curiosity the rover, Sudan the rhino, Tree of Ténéré, The world's loneliest island, The "Man of the Hole"

No one knows the name of his tribe or the language he speaks, but FUNAI, Brazil's indigenous affairs department, has protected the land he lives on, despite him reportedly firing arrows at employees trying to contact him.

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