A lot has changed in the last 200 years, and surprisingly there’s only one land animal in the world who has seen it all.
Meet Jonathan, a tortoise, who turned 191 years old this year and holds the Guinness World Record to be the world’s oldest land animal. Jonathan is a giant tortoise living in Seychelles and, interestingly, he is also the oldest animal in his species. Giant tortoises generally live up to 150 years, and Jonathan has surpassed that age by over 40 years!
With the unique title of being the world’s oldest land animal, Jonathan is no less than a celebrity.
His picture is also present on the island’s currency– specifically the five-pence coin. Jonathan lives on the grounds of the governor’s mansion at St. Helena Island, which is a British territory near southwest Africa, where hundreds of tourists visit each year just to see him and his friends– three 50-something spring-chicken tortoises– who live with him.
Jonathan has two unique Guinness World Records to his name: one is for being the oldest land animal and the second is for being the oldest chelonian (which includes turtles, terrapins, tortoises). According to the Guinness World Records, his age is just an estimate and he might be older than 191 years. He was given the unofficial birthdate of December 4, 1832, by the current Governor of St. Helena, as per reports.
Over the years, he has lost his sense of smell and vision. However, he is going strong and he moves around based on his sense of hearing.
