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Related: About this forum190-year-old Jonathan is the oldest tortoise ever
By Patrick Pester published about 12 hours ago
Jonathan was already the oldest living land animal.
Jonathan the oldest tortoise ever on Saint Helena, part of a British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. (Image credit: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP via Getty Images)
A 190-year-old tortoise named Jonathan has become the oldest tortoise ever, adding to his list of age-defying accolades.
Jonathan is estimated to have been born in 1832, which means he turned, or turns, 190 years old in 2022, Guinness World Records announced on Jan. 12. To put that into context, Jonathan was born before Queen Victoria ascended the British throne in 1837.
The elderly Seychelles giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea hololissa) was already the Guinness World Record holder for the oldest living land animal, but now he is officially the oldest turtle or tortoise ever recorded. He beat previous record-holder Tu'i Malila, a radiated tortoise (Astrochelys radiata) that lived to be at least 188 years old before dying in 1965.
Jonathan lives on St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean. "He is a local icon, symbolic of persistence in the face of change," Joe Hollins, Jonathan's veterinarian, told Guinness World Records.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/jonathan-oldest-tortoise-ever
Jonathan, a whipper-snapper at 182.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)eppur_se_muova
(36,332 posts)Who knows how long they lived before sailors started wiping them out for food.
RockRaven
(15,241 posts)Thanks for this one.
murielm99
(30,819 posts)littlemissmartypants
(23,091 posts)My first pet was a turtle. And let's not forget that we all live on Turtle Island.
lookyhereyou
(140 posts)many types too and they need their habitat
and not be run over on their way to lay eggs
and to disperse
Judi Lynn
(160,849 posts)KS Toronado
(17,689 posts)Hand fed and can even pet him.