Did you know about the world’s oldest animal Jonathan, who turned 188-years-old in 2020 and has been said to be the oldest living terrestrial animal? Jonathan, who was born in circa 1832, has completed his 188 years in October 2020. He originated from Seychelles in the Indian Ocean and was brought to St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic in the year 1882. He has been there since and grown into a gigantic old tortoise now. When initially brought to the remote Island, he was found to be fully mature, meaning that he was above 50 years old.

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Jonathan has been living at the governor’s residence for more than 130 years when he was gifted to Overseas British territory’s then-governor, ‘William Grey-Wilson’. It has been said that the world’s oldest animal was nameless even on the Island until Governor Spencer Davis (1932-1938) gave him the name ‘Jonathan’.

‘Twitterati’ showered wishes on Jonathan’s Birthday

Jonathan may be the world’s oldest animal but is not devoid of social media fans, as his birthday on Oct 9 was celebrated on Twitter when a user posted the 188-year Old’s picture with birthday wishes. While some showed surprise and confusion upon his age, others were showering Jonathan with birthday wishes.

Tortoise Jonathan is far beyond his kind’s average life span

Jonathan lives in the manicured plantation grounds with four more giant tortoises, named David, Emma, Frederika, and Myrtle. Despite his astonishingly long life-span, he still maintains a good appetite and excellent hearing. However, he has become virtually blind due to cataracts and has lost his sense of smell. His vet has mentioned that he has a ‘good libido’, which indicates sound internal health.

Jonathan’s primary veterinarian ‘Joe Hollin’ told reporters that Jonathan has far exceeded his life expectancy, i.e., 150 years. Although the fact remains that he will die one day, the caretakers have greatly enhanced his life expectancy through various measures. He is given a high-calorie diet, and his habitat has been improved dramatically to help with his feeding problems. Talking about a typical day in Jonathan’s life, the vet said that in summers, the tortoise takes a good sunbathe in the day, while prefers to be in the shade when it’s too hot. In winters, he digs himself into ‘leaf-mold’ or grass clippings and spends the entire day in it. Many visitors view the magnificent oldest living wonder on St. Helena, who are given a chance, however, with certain restrictions in place.

World’s Oldest Animal Habitat shares resting place of ‘Napolean’

Jonathan, who is 49in long and 2ft tall, is very famous in St. Helena. However, he received immense international media coverage only from 2008 through the UK Daily Mail newspaper. He has been called a distinct living being who has lived through the two world wars, change of 39 U.S. presidents, and 8 British Monarchs, while in St. Helena, he has seen 28 British Governors come and go.

St. Helena is also famous for the second exile destination of Emperor’ Napolean’ after his defeat in 1815, and he eventually died in 1821. The record-breaking tortoise arrived around six decades later on the Island than Napolean’s death. Experts also suggest that he may have been hatched before 1776, as construed from another theory, which will actually make him 244 years old.

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