Even in death, Lonesome George’s star power burns brightly. After the iconic giant tortoise died last month, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa mourned the reptile’s loss in an address to the nation, expressing hope that “one day, science and technology will be able to reproduce him, to clone him”.

Antarctica is the most unspoiled continent on Earth - and fast becoming a tourist hotspot. It has been 50 years since the first cruise ship visited with 200 passengers, but now 30,000 tourists go each year. Veteran polar researcher and zoologist Bernard Stonehouse has seen for himself how Antarctica has changed: he first set foot there in 1946 and since the early 1990s has been back every year to study the impact of tourism. He tells Henry Nicholls why tourists are important to Antarctica, and why scientists may pose a greater threat to its environment. (Interview)