What?!? Tortoise Born 33 Years Before the Assassination of Lincoln Alive Today!

At the ripe age of 183, Jonathan the tortoise is the world’s oldest living land creature.  His estimated birth date reaches as far back as 1832!

Below: a photo of Jonathan with a prisoner during the Boer War dates back to 1902, in which he is a full grown adult tortoise. That means he was at least 50 years old at the time the photo was taken.

He currently resides on the British island of St. Helena – a tropical island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean – but nobody knows why he ended up there.

He has been kept in the paddock at Plantation House, the British governor’s residence.

“He is virtually blind from cataracts, has no sense of smell – but his hearing is good,” guide Joe Hollis told Sally Kettle of the BBC.

Here’s a video of Jonathan:

But that doesn’t stop him from enjoying life. He loves having his neck stroked while chomping down on his favorite foods – bananas, cabbage and carrots.

Since it’s getting harder and harder for Jonathan to find food on his own, Hollis delivers a bucket of fresh fruit and vegetables every Sunday morning.

“In truth, he could die any day, but we obviously hope to extend his life as long as humanely possible,” Jonathan’s vet said. “When the day comes, it will be an international news story.”

The all-time verified record holder for the world’s oldest tortoise, according to Guinness World Records, is Tui Malila (whose preserved body is pictured below)  who died inTonga in 1965 at the age of 189. Adwaita, an Aldabra giant tortoise that died in 2006 in the Alipore Zoological Gardens of Kolkata,India, is believed to have lived to the age of 255 years but this has not been confirmed.

In February 2014, as part of the Queen’s Baton Relay ahead of the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the baton visited Saint Helena and Governor Mark Capes, whilst holding the baton, posed for a photo alongside Jonathan in the grounds of Plantation House.^[4]

BBC Radio featured Jonathan in an episode of From Our Own Correspondent in March 2014 after ocean rower Sally Kettle visited Saint Helena.^[2]

The Saint Helena five pence coin has Jonathan on its reverse.

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