Jonathan the turtle it is the oldest creature of this species in the world after turning 190 years old. Guinness World Records made sure of it, after examining old photos where the creature has already appeared since 1832. Now it’s official: Jonathan is 190 years old!
The turtle’s birthday was declared on December 4 by British Overseas Territory Governor Nigel Phillips, who decided to mark the event with a three-day celebration. Local residents were invited to the governor’s house, where there was even an ad hoc cake.
Surely the right way to celebrate such a long life. Jonathan is a giant tortoise from the Seychelles (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) and broke the previous record of its fellow who died at the age of 188 in 1965. To be precise, the official title of the record was given to the oldest Chelonianan order of reptiles that includes turtles and tortoises (although the world’s longest-living animal is much older).
Unfortunately we will never know the true age of the creature, since there are no official documents about its arrival on the island. There old age of the turtle is an estimate based on a photograph showing Jonathan’s arrival on St. Helena from the Seychelles in 1882. In the photo, the animal appeared to be fully mature and therefore may have been 50 years old, suggesting he was born in at least 1832.
John has seen the rise and election of 39 US presidents, but time has not been kind to him: the creature is blind and has no sense of smell, despite acting like a young man of “only” 100 years. By the way: that’s how old the world’s oldest living cat is.
