ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we show that animal remains of extinct species can be ascribed a sacred character. Using the notion of “sacred” as “set apart” per Émile Durkheim, we argue that the conjunction of preparation, placement, and cultural value of particular extinct specimens can make them into sacred objects. We examine the sacredness of two specimens on display: the last Pinta giant tortoise, Solitario Jorge, who died in 2012 and is now displayed at the Research Station at Santa Cruz Island as a Galápagos conservation icon; and the last giant Hoàn Kiếm softshell turtle, Cụ Rùa, similarly put on display after his death in 2016 at the Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi, Vietnam. Drawing upon three bodies of literature—religious studies, museum studies, and extinction studies—we explain how these two animal bodies have taken on sacred characteristics. Whereas extinction studies is often concerned with what is absent, this article demonstrates that by maintaining extinct animals in a liminal condition—on the threshold—neither alive nor dead, the bodily remains of the last specimens obtain a sacred status and stand in for the complete loss of a species.
